proboscis

Pronunciation: /pɹə(ʊ)ˈbɒs(k)ɪs/

The English word “proboscis” has 4 meanings listed here.

noun

An elongated tube from the head or connected to the mouth, of an animal.
The tubular feeding and sucking organ of certain invertebrates like insects, worms and molluscs.
The trunk of an elephant.
A large or lengthy human nose.

Etymology

From Latin proboscis, 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”).

Keep exploring: in the interactive dictionary every word of a definition is a link. Open “proboscis” there

More English words

About this dictionary

The English dictionary on Glottosphere has 650,529 entries with a page. Browse the English dictionary.

Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.