Nostril — From Old English to English | etymologist.ai
nostril
/ˈnɒstrɪl/·noun·c. 700 CE — nosþyrl attested in Old English glossaries and anatomical texts from the earliest period of written Old English·Established
Origin
OldEnglish nosþyrl compounds nosu (nose) and þyrl (hole, from *þurhą = through), making nostril literally a nose-hole — a straight Anglo-Saxon anatomical compound that outlasted the Norman Conquest.
Definition
Either of the two external openings of the nasal cavity — from Old English nosþyrl, literally 'nose-hole', compounding nosu (nose) and þyrl (hole/perforation), the latter sharing its root with 'through' and 'thrill'.
The Full Story
Old Englishc. 700–1100 CEwell-attested
The word 'nostril' is a transparent OldEnglish compound: OE nosþyrl, formed from two native Germanic elements — nosu (nose) and þyrl (hole, opening, perforation). The element þyrl derives from Proto-Germanic *þurhilą, meaning a hole or opening, itself from *þurhą (through). This connects nostril to some of the most fundamental spatial vocabulary in the Germanic languages. The same
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Nostril and thrill share a common ancestor: OldEnglish þyrl (hole, perforation) and the verb þyrlian (to pierce, bore through). A nostril is a nose-hole; a thrill was originally theact of piercing something. The same shift is visible in Grimm's Law — PIE *t became Germanic
a piercing sensation, literally a hole-making act. That meaning of physical piercing gradually metaphorised into the emotional sensation of being pierced by excitement. Old English nosþyrl shows the characteristic Germanic habit of building precise anatomical vocabulary from inherited native elements rather than borrowing from Latin. Latin would use naris (nostril); Old English instead assembled a compound that describes exactly what a nostril is — a hole through the nose. The form evolved through Middle English as nostril, nosthirl, nosethirl before settling into modern spelling by the 15th century. Key roots: *nas- (Proto-Indo-European: "nose — cognate with Latin nasus, Sanskrit nāsā"), *terh₂- (Proto-Indo-European: "to cross over, pass through, pierce"), *þurhilą (Proto-Germanic: "hole, opening, perforation — from *þurhą (through)").