proboscis

Noun

US[proh-bos-uhs]/proʊˈbɑsəs/3 syllables

Synonyms: trunk

Open English WordNet

Noun (2)proboscides

the human nose (especially when it is large)Type of nose, olfactory organ
a long flexible snout as of an elephantSynonyms: trunkType of snout, nebPart of elephant, mammoth

Word of the day · Nov 8About this word

verboseadjective

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Pro·bos′cis noun; pl. Proboscides (#).

Origin: L. fr. Gr. …; … before + … to feed, graze.

1. Zoology 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.

☞ 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 maxillæ, or by the labium. See Illusts. of Hemiptera and Lepidoptera.

2. Zoology By extension, applied to various tubelike mouth organs of the lower animals that can be everted or protruded.

☞ 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. Zoology See Kahau.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

The Devil's Dictionary

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.