Etymograph

English

nostril

Nostril comes from Middle English nostrille, and goes back to Old English nosþyrel.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150nosþyrel1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nostrille1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1601nostril1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English nostril
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1601, Plinius Secundus, The Hiſtorie of the World. Commonly Called: “[…]whether it bee that they bee broken winded and…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150nosþyrelWiktionary, English nostril
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nostrilleWiktionary, English nostril
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1601nostrilWiktionary, English nostril. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1601, Plinius Secundus, The Hiſtorie of the World. Commonly Called: “[…]whether it bee that they bee broken winded and…”

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Today it means

noun Either of the two orifices located on the nose (or on the beak of a bird); used as a passage for air and other gases to travel the nasal passages.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nostril”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old English nosþyrel / nostril