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nasalis

/neɪˈzeɪ.lɪs/ noun

Latin root: nāsālis Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about nasalis at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A small muscle on each side of the nose that constricts the nasal aperture by the action of a triangular transverse portion which draws the lateral part of the aperture upward and a quadrangular alar portion which draws it downward.

Origin

Unadapted borrowing from New Latin nāsālis, ellipsis of mūsculus nāsālis (“nasal muscle”). Doublet of nasal.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)