Dictionary

orifice en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɒɹɪfɪs/ (UK)
• (US) audio
• /ˈɔɹəfɪs/ (US)

Etymology

From Middle French, from Old French, from Late Latin ōrificium (“an opening, literally the making of a mouth”), compound of ōs (“mouth”) + faciō (“to make”).

Meanings

1. A mouth or aperture, such as of a tube, pipe, etc.; an opening.
   • the orifice of an artery or vein; the orifice of a wound; he entered the cave's gaping orifice
   • The plug in the orifice of the tube was temporarily removed and the mirror carefully cleaned. 1892, Royal Astronomical Society, Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, volumes 50-51, Blackwell Scientific, page 162:
   • As none of the ovicells were observed to be closed by the operculum, presumably because they were empty and the opercula were resting on the primary orifice rim, the ovicell closure type is subcleithral rather than cleithral [51 ], at least in some species of the genus. 2015 October 22, “Diversity and Systematics of Schizomavella Species (Bryozoa: Bitectiporidae) from the Bathyal NE Atlantic”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:
2. One of the natural external openings of the human or animal body.
   • the vagina and other orifices
   • The maw-worm could emerge unexpectedly from any orifice, including, most alarmingly, the corner of people's eyes. 1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 121:
   • For example, cultures that scorn open orifices of all kinds despise uninfibulated female genitals too[…] 2004, Diana T. Meyers, Being Yourself: Essays on Identity, Action, and Social Life, page 86:
3. (derogatory, slang) A stupid or objectionable person.
   • “Peanuts aren't nuts, you orifice. They're legumes.” 2016, Niels Saunders, Mervyn Vs. Dennis:

Forms

Deriveds

orificed · external urethral orifice · orificial · orifical

Translations (57)

fo opilsi (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · da åbning (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · nn op (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · bg отвор (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · is munnur (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · cmn 孔 (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · de Öffnung (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · ja 孔 (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · pt orifício (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · ja 開口部 (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · id mulut (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · pl ujście (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · hy ծակ (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · hy անցք (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · cmn 口 (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · fi reikä (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · tl bukasan (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · bg устие (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · mi wenewene (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · bg жигльор (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · es orificio (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · lb Ëffnung (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · is op (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · bg проход (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · nn opning (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · tr delik (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · bg дюза (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · gd beul (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · ml രന്ധ്രം (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · nb åpning (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · pl otwór (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · hy բացվածք (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · gd fosgladh (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · ga oscailt (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · cmn 開口 /开口 (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · tr açıklık (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · eo aperturo (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · cmn 洞 (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · fr orifice (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · bg отверстие (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · it orificio (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · ru отве́рстие (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · bg щуцер (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · ga poll (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · nb åp (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · fo op (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · ms mulut (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · mk о́твор (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · mi mānawanawa (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · ga béal (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · ca orifici (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · it orifizio (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · fi aukko (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · sv mynning (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · sv öppning (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · mi pūaha (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe) · ja 口 (mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe)