proboscis

English

Etymology

From Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value), from Ancient Greek προβοσκίς (proboskís, elephant's trunk) literally "means for taking food," from προ- (pro-, before) + βόσκω (bóskō, to nourish, feed), from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷeh₃- from which also comes βοτάνη (botánē, grass, fodder).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɹə(ʊ)ˈbɒs(k)ɪs/
  • (file)

Noun

proboscis (plural proboscises or proboscides)

  1. (anatomy) An elongated tube from the head or connected to the mouth, of an animal.
    1. (entomology, malacology) The tubular feeding and sucking organ of certain invertebrates like insects, worms and molluscs.
      • 2012, Brian Wiegmann, The Evolutionary Biology of Flies, page 225:
        Unlike the proboscides of Lower brachyceran lineages, which are continuous with the head capsule and tend to dangle (Matsuda 1965), the proboscides of most cyclorrhaphan species are suspended by a membranous region and divided into three functional parts: the basiproboscis (rostrum), medioproboscis (haustellum), and distiproboscis (labellum), each of which is defined by internal muscles but also shares muscles with the other regions (Graham-Smith 1930; Lall and Davies 1971).
    2. The trunk of an elephant.
  2. (informal, mildly humorous) A large or lengthy human nose.

Derived terms

Translations

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek προβοσκίς (proboskís).

Noun

proboscis f (genitive proboscidis); third declension

  1. proboscis
  2. snout
  3. trunk of an elephant

Declension

Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value)

Descendants

  • Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value)
  • Italian: proboscide
  • Portuguese: probóscide
  • Spanish: probóscide
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.