English

Adjective

nasal

1. (Anatomy) Of or pertaining to the nose.
2. (Phonetics) Having a quality imparted by means of the nose; and specifically, made by lowering the soft palate , in some cases with closure of the oral passage , the voice thus issuing (wholly or partially) through the nose, as in the consonants m, n, ng; characterized by resonance in the nasal passage; as, a nasal vowel; a nasal utterance .

Noun

nasal (plural nasals)

1. An elementary sound which is uttered through the nose, or through both the nose and the mouth simultaneously.
2. (Medicine) (Archaic) A medicine that operates through the nose; an errhine .
3. (Phonetics) A nasal vowel or consonant
4. (Armour) Part of a helmet projecting to protect the nose; a nose guard.

   Quotations

   • 1909: The nasal continued in use until about 1140, when it was generally discarded, but isolated examples may be found in every succeeding century down to the seventeenth. — Charles Henry Ashdown, European Arms & Armor, page 78.

5. (Anatomy) One of the nasal bones.
6. (Zoology) A plate, or scale, on the nose of a fish, etc.

Derived terms

• nasal bone (Anatomy)
• nasal index (Anatomy)
• nasal vowel (Phonetics)