Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The projection of skin-covered cartilage in front of the meatus of the external ear.
- noun Any of the hairs growing at the entrance to the meatus of the external ear.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun anatomy The small piece of thick
cartilage of theexternal ear that is immediately in front of theear canal .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word tragus.
Examples
-
The fold of skin in front of the opening of the ear the tragus is an acupressure point for feeling full.
The Flex Diet M.D. James Beckerman 2011
-
The fold of skin in front of the opening of the ear the tragus is an acupressure point for feeling full.
The Flex Diet M.D. James Beckerman 2011
-
The flap called the tragus protects of the auditory meatus, or earhole.
Archive 2009-06-01 James Gurney 2009
-
The flap called the tragus protects of the auditory meatus, or earhole.
The Anatomy of the Ear James Gurney 2009
-
The flap called the tragus protects of the auditory meatus, or earhole.
The Anatomy of the Ear James Gurney 2009
-
It can also be used for other piercings, such as tragus or conchs, just to name a few.
We Blog A Lot 2008
-
Article Source: ArticlesBase. com – Buying Bulk Jewellery tragus bump.?
-
I originally had a titanium barbell, which cost a mint but healed extremely well. i have since had it professionally changed to a surgical steel BCR .. which probably should have been titanium. anyway, i have the typical “tragus bump”, which is annoying me to no end.
-
Hey, if you're not able to get the live goat, you could have people draw the tragus of the person next to them...
Creature Design Workshop Update James Gurney 2009
-
Man, HOW could I have forgotten Dennis -- the source of the whole accurate ear/tragus/Darwin's tubercle/Liam Clancy's advice to Bob Dylan train of thought!
The Waterhouse Expedition: Border Problems James Gurney 2009
reesetee commented on the word tragus
that little flap of cartilage at the front of the opening of your ear
March 1, 2007
abraxaszugzwang commented on the word tragus
cool. and cause of this word, I found meatus!
March 1, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tragus
Eeew. Meatus. Doesn't it sound like it's supposed to be a big hunk of steak?
March 1, 2007
abraxaszugzwang commented on the word tragus
sounds like a meat foetus.
If God didn't want us to eat fetuses, why are they made out of meat?
March 1, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tragus
Blecch! An even more ghastly image!
March 1, 2007
trivet commented on the word tragus
Gross, y'all!
Meatus just made the hate list.
March 1, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tragus
Ditto, trivet.
March 1, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word tragus
Wow. This is a weird word that doesn't sound at all like its meaning. Meatus is even weirder and sounds even less like its meaning!
March 1, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tragus
The etymology is even more bizarre:
New Latin, from Greek tragos, goat, hairy part of the ear.
March 1, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word tragus
?!?!
March 1, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tragus
?!?! too! How they got from goat to hairy part of the ear, I don't want to know.
March 1, 2007
sionnach commented on the word tragus
this word is tragic
March 2, 2007
seanahan commented on the word tragus
Um, goats have very hairy ears. People with hairy ears look like goats. Seems like a pretty straight forward explanation.
March 2, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tragus
Joke, seanahan. Joke. :-)
March 2, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word tragus
But this doesn't mean "hairy ear," and it doesn't refer only to people with hairy ears. Whether people with hairy ears look like goats or not is irrelevant. The word refers to a part outside your ear that everyone has, even people without hairy traguses (tragi?). Why that has anything to do with goats is beyond me. But very interesting, so thanks for posting the etymology. I say again... ?!?!
March 2, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tragus
Odd, sionnach, that it derives from the same root as tragic. Makes a Wordie wonder.... ;-)
March 2, 2007
slumry commented on the word tragus
Oh dear, now I will be compelled to go about observing tragi to see if they are hairy. A little scientific survey. ;-)
July 16, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tragus
*glad slumry won't be checking out my ears any time soon, since we live on opposite sides of the country* ;-)
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word tragus
Yea, you should be safe. ;-)
July 16, 2007
slumry commented on the word tragus
Safe unless I get a hankering for cod wrap and stop by Silly's at the same time you do! Look for the woman staring surreptitiously at ears.
Come to think of it, staring surreptitiously is probably akin to jumbo shrimp.
July 16, 2007
reesetee commented on the word tragus
I think you may be right. :-)
July 16, 2007
ruzuzu commented on the word tragus
More tragicomedy in the news.
August 3, 2010
oroboros commented on the word tragus
Even Dilbert gets into the action. A shame Scott couldn't work meatus in as well.
March 18, 2011