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Vibrissa
//vɪˈbɹɪsə// noun
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of the tactile whiskers on the nose of an animal such as a cat.
"There are also long hairs inside each ear and sometimes on its tip, and about a dozen very long and strong hairs—the whiskers or vibrissæ— are placed on each upper lip."
- 2 a long stiff hair growing from the snout or brow of most mammals as e.g. a cat wordnet
- 3 Any similar feather near the mouth of some birds.
- 4 A thick hair found inside the nostrils of humans and other mammals. in-plural
"The vibrissae are coarse hairs whose follicles are located just within the nasal meatus. […] Vibrissae are present in most mammals, but their innervation and role in sensory function appears to be less pronounced in humans."
Etymology
From Latin vibrissae.
See also for "vibrissa"
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