nose

Etymology

From Middle English nose, from Old English nosu, from Proto-West Germanic *nosu, variant of *nasō, old dual from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s- ~ *nh₂es- (“nose, nostril”) See also Saterland Frisian Noose, West Frisian noas, Dutch neus, Swedish nos, Norwegian nos (“snout”), German Low German Nees, Nes, Näs, German Nase, Swedish näsa, Norwegian nese, Danish næse (“nose”); also Latin nāris (“nostril”), nāsus (“nose”), Lithuanian nósis, Russian нос (nos), Sanskrit नासा (nā́sā, “nostrils”).

noun

1. A protuberance on the face housing the nostrils, which are used to breathe or smell.
   She had a small nose between two sparkling blue eyes.
   The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […]. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess
2. A snout, the nose of an animal.
3. The tip of an object.
   the nose of a tea-kettle, a bellows, or a fighter plane
   Her crew knew that deep in her heart beat engines fit and able to push her blunt old nose ahead at a sweet fourteen knots, come Hell or high water. 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 1
4. The bulge on the side of a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, that fits into the hole of its adjacent piece.
5. (horse racing) The length of a horse’s nose, used to indicate the distance between horses at the finish of a race, or any very close race.
   Red Rum only won by a nose.
6. A perfumer.
7. The power of smelling.
   We are not offended with […] a dog for a better nose than his master. c. 1700, Jeremy Collier, Of Envy
8. Bouquet, the smell of something, especially wine.
9. The skill in recognising bouquet.
   It is essential that a winetaster develops a good nose.
10. (by extension) Skill at finding information.
    A successful reporter has a nose for news.
11. (architecture) A downward projection from a cornice.
12. (slang) An informer.
    […] M was a Magsman, frequenting Pall-Mall; / N was a Nose that turned chirp on his pal; […] 1846, George William MacArthur Reynolds, The Mysteries of London, page 60

verb

1. (intransitive) To move cautiously by advancing its front end.
   The ship nosed through the minefield.
2. (intransitive) To snoop.
   She was nosing around other people’s business.
3. (transitive) To detect by smell or as if by smell.
   Real connoisseurs know that to nose and taste properly you have to add still water to your tulip-shaped glass so that the alcohol doesn't overwhelm you. 2002-10-20, Bob Morris, “Connoisseurship Runneth Over”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
4. (transitive) To push with one's nose; to nuzzle.
5. (transitive) To defeat (as in a race or other contest) by a narrow margin; sometimes with out.
6. (transitive) To utter in a nasal manner; to pronounce with a nasal twang.
   to nose a prayer
   It makes far better musick when you nose Sternold's, or Wisdom's meeter. c. 1635, William Cartwright, The Ordinary
7. (transitive) To furnish with a nose.
   to nose a stair tread
8. (transitive) To confront; be closely face to face or opposite to.