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vibrissaemore about vibrissae

vibrissae


  1  definition  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Vibrissa  \Vi*bris"sa\,  n.;  pl  {Vibriss[ae]}.  [L.  vibrissae, 
  pl.,  the  hairs  in  the  nostrils  of  man,  fr  vibrare  to 
  vibrate;  --  so  called  because  touching  them  tickles  a  person, 
  and  causes  him  to  shake  his  head.] 
  1.  (Anat.)  One  of  the  specialized  or  tactile  hairs  which  grow 
  about  the  nostrils,  or  on  other  parts  of  the  face,  in  many 
  animals,  as  the  so-called  whiskers  of  the  cat,  and  the 
  hairs  of  the  nostrils  of  man. 
 
  2.  (Zo["o]l.)  The  bristlelike  feathers  near  the  mouth  of  many 
  birds. 




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