Choana

//ˈkoʊ.ən.ə// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A funnel; a funnel-shaped opening.

    "Near-synonyms: infundibulum, pelvis, cornu"

  2. 2
    either one of the two posterior openings at the back of the nasal cavity leading to the nasopharynx wordnet
  3. 3
    A pair of apertures towards the back of the nasal cavity, opening into the nasopharynx.

    "The choanal glands of caecilians open at the margin of the choanae, whereas those of salamanders open deep within the choanae at the margin of the olfactory epithelium."

Synonyms

All synonyms
internal nostrilposterior narisposterior nasal aperturecornuinfundibulumpelvis

Example

More examples

"Near-synonyms: infundibulum, pelvis, cornu"

Etymology

Borrowing from New Latin choana, from Ancient Greek χοᾰ́νη (khoắnē, “funnel”), from χέω (khéō, “to pour”) + -ᾰ́νη (-ắnē, suffix for utensil names).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.