trunk, long flexible snout of elephants and other mammals; mouthparts of some insects and other invertebrates; big nose, large nose (Slang)
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Proboscis Definition from Arts & Humanities Dictionaries & Glossaries
Proboscis Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
(n.)
The nose.
The nose.
(n.)
By extension, applied to various tubelike mouth organs of the lower animals that can be everted or protruded.
By extension, applied to various tubelike mouth organs of the lower animals that can be everted or protruded.
(n.)
A hollow organ or tube attached to the head, or connected with the mouth, of various animals, and generally used in taking food or drink; a snout; a trunk.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter. AboutA hollow organ or tube attached to the head, or connected with the mouth, of various animals, and generally used in taking food or drink; a snout; a trunk.
proboscis
\pro*bos"cis\ (?), n.; pl. proboscides (#). [l. fr. gr. &?;; &?; before + &?; to feed, graze.]
1. (zo?l.) a hollow organ or tube attached to the head, or connected with the mouth, of various animals, and generally used in taking food or drink; a snout; a trunk.
note: the proboscis of an elephant is a flexible muscular elongation of the nose. the proboscis of insects is usually a chitinous tube formed by the modified maxill?, or by the labium. see illusts. of hemiptera and lepidoptera.
2. (zo?l.) by extension, applied to various tubelike mouth organs of the lower animals that can be everted or protruded.
note: the proboscis of annelids and of mollusks is usually a portion of the pharynx that can be everted or protruded. that of nemerteans is a special long internal organ, not connected with the mouth, and not used in feeding, but capable of being protruded from a pore in the head. see illust. in appendix.
3. the nose. [jocose]
proboscis
monkey. (zo?l.) see kahau.
proboscis
n
1. (informal) the human nose (especially when it is large)
2. a long flexible snout as of an elephant [syn: trunk]
similar words(3)
proboscis flower
proboscis worm
proboscis monkey
Proboscis, (n.)
The rudimentary organ of an elephant which serves him in place of the knife-and-fork that Evolution has as yet denied him. For purposes of humor it is popularly called a trunk.
Asked how he knew that an elephant was going on a journey, the illustrious Jo. Miller cast a reproachful look upon his tormentor, and answered, absently: "When it is ajar," and threw himself from a high promontory into the sea. Thus perished in his pride the most famous humorist of antiquity, leaving to mankind a heritage of woe! No successor worthy of the title has appeared, though Mr. Edward Bok, of "The Ladies' Home Journal", is much respected for the purity and sweetness of his personal character.
The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce, 1911 (About)The rudimentary organ of an elephant which serves him in place of the knife-and-fork that Evolution has as yet denied him. For purposes of humor it is popularly called a trunk.
Asked how he knew that an elephant was going on a journey, the illustrious Jo. Miller cast a reproachful look upon his tormentor, and answered, absently: "When it is ajar," and threw himself from a high promontory into the sea. Thus perished in his pride the most famous humorist of antiquity, leaving to mankind a heritage of woe! No successor worthy of the title has appeared, though Mr. Edward Bok, of "The Ladies' Home Journal", is much respected for the purity and sweetness of his personal character.
Noun
1. the human nose (especially when it is large)
(hypernym) nose, olfactory organ
(classification) colloquialism
2. a long flexible snout as of an elephant
(synonym) trunk
(hypernym) snout, neb
Proboscis Definition from Science & Technology Dictionaries & Glossaries
The extended beaklike mouthparts.
Proboscis Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
A proboscis is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, the term is used to describe an elongated nose or snout.
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