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Webster 1913 Edition

Nose

Nose

(nōz)
,
Noun.
[AS.
nosu
; akin to D.
neus
, G.
nase
, OHG.
nasa
, Icel.
nös
, Sw.
näsa
, Dan.
näse
, Lith.
nosis
, Russ.
nos’
, L.
nasus
,
nares
, Skr.
nāsā
,
nās
. √261. Cf.
Nasal
,
Nasturtium
,
Naze
,
Nostril
,
Nozzle
.]
1.
(Anat.)
The prominent part of the face or anterior extremity of the head containing the nostrils and olfactory cavities; the olfactory organ. See
Nostril
, and
Olfactory organ
under
Olfactory
.
2.
The power of smelling; hence, scent.
We are not offended with a dog for a better
nose
than his master.
Collier.
3.
A projecting end or beak at the front of an object; a snout; a nozzle; a spout;
as, the
nose
of a bellows; the
nose
of a teakettle.

Nose

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Nosed
(nōzd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Nosing
.]
1.
To smell; to scent; hence, to track, or trace out.
2.
To touch with the nose; to push the nose into or against; hence, to interfere with; to treat insolently.
Lambs . . .
nosing
the mother's udder.
Tennyson.
A sort of national convention, dubious in its nature . . .
nosed
Parliament in the very seat of its authority.
Burke.
3.
To utter in a nasal manner; to pronounce with a nasal twang;
as, to
nose
a prayer
.
[R.]
Cowley.

Nose

(nōz)
,
Verb.
I.
1.
To smell; to sniff; to scent.
Audubon.
2.
To pry officiously into what does not concern one; to
nose around
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Nose

NOSE

,
Noun.
1.
The prominent part of the face which is the organ of smell, consisting of two similar cavities called nostrils. The nose serves also to modulate the voice in speaking, and to discharge the tears which flow through the lachrymal ducts. Through this organ also the air usually passes in respiration, and it constitutes no small part of the beauty of the face. In man, the nose is situated near the middle of the face; but in quadrupeds, the nose is at or near the lower extremity of the head.
2.
The end of any thing; as the nose of a bellows.
3.
Scent; sagacity.
We are not offended with a dog for a better nose than his master.
To lead by the nose, to lead blindly.
To be led by the nose, to follow another obsequiously, or to be led without resistance or enquiring the reason.
To thrust one's nose into the affairs of others, to meddle officiously in other people's matters; to be a busy-body.
To put one's nose out of joint, to alienate the affections from another.

NOSE

, v.t.
1.
To small; to scent.
2.
To face; to oppose to the face.

NOSE

,
Verb.
I.
To look big; to bluster. [Not used.]

Definition 2024

nose

nose

See also: no sé

English

Nose: the sensory organ

Alternative forms

Noun

nose ‎(plural noses)

  1. A protuberance on the face housing the nostrils, which are used to breathe or smell.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess:
      The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue.  […] .
    She has a cold in the nose.‎
  2. A snout, the nose of an animal.
  3. The tip of an object.
    • 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot Chapter IV
      We submerged very slowly and without headway more than sufficient to keep her nose in the right direction, and as we went down, I saw outlined ahead of us the black opening in the great cliff.
    the nose of a tea-kettle, a bellows, or a fighter plane‎
  4. (horse racing) The length of a horse’s nose, used to indicate the distance between horses at the finish of a race, or any very close race.
    Red Rum only won by a nose.‎
  5. A perfumer.
  6. The power of smelling.
    • Collier
      We are not offended with a dog for a better nose than his master.
  7. Bouquet, the smell of something, especially wine.
  8. The skill in recognising bouquet.
    It is essential that a winetaster develops a good nose.‎
  9. (by extension) Skill at finding information.
    A successful reporter has a nose for news.‎

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:nose

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Verb

nose ‎(third-person singular simple present noses, present participle nosing, simple past and past participle nosed)

  1. (intransitive) To move cautiously by advancing its front end.
    The ship nosed through the minefield.
  2. (intransitive) To snoop.
    She was nosing around other people’s business.
  3. (transitive) To detect by smell or as if by smell.
    • c. 1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 4, sc. 3,
      If you find him not within
      this month, you shall nose him as you go up the
      stairs into the lobby.
  4. (transitive) To push with one's nose; to nuzzle.
    • Tennyson
      lambs […] nosing the mother's udder
  5. (transitive) To defeat (as in a race or other contest) by a narrow margin; sometimes with out.
  6. (transitive) To utter in a nasal manner; to pronounce with a nasal twang.
    to nose a prayer
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Cowley to this entry?)
  7. (transitive) To furnish with a nose.
    to nose a stair tread
  8. (transitive) To confront; be closely face to face or opposite to.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈnɔsɛ]

Noun

nose

  1. nominative plural of nos
  2. accusative plural of nos

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English nosu, from Proto-Germanic *nusō, old dual from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s- ~ *nh₂es- ‘nose, nostril’.

Noun

nose (plural noses)

  1. nose

Descendants

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

nose

  1. past participle of nyse

Old English

Pronunciation

Noun

nose

  1. accusative singular of nosu
  2. genitive singular of nosu
  3. dative singular of nosu
  4. nominative plural of nosu
  5. accusative plural of nosu

Etymology

From Middle English nose, from Old English nosu, from Proto-Germanic *nusō (compare Saterland Frisian Noose, West Frisian noas, Dutch neus, Swedish nos, Norwegian nos ‎(“snout”), variant of *nasō (compare German Low German Nees, Nes, Näs, German Nase, Swedish näsa, Norwegian nese ‎(“nose”)), old dual from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s- ~ *nh₂es- ‘nose, nostril’ (compare Latin nāris ‎(“nostril”), nāsus ‎(“nose”), Lithuanian nósis, Russian нос ‎(nos), Sanskrit नासा ‎(nā́sā, “nostrils”)).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /nəʊz/
  • (US) IPA(key): /noʊz/
  • Rhymes: -əʊz
  • IPA(key): /ˈnoze/

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