Dictionary

proboscis en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• [pɹɐʉˈbɔ̟s(k)əs] (New-Zealand)
• /pɹəʉˈbɔs(k)ɪs/ (Australia)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /pɹɐʉˈbɒs(k)əs/ (New-Zealand)
• /pɹoʊˈbɑs(k)ɪs/ (General-American, dialectal) of Canada
• /pɹə(ʊ)ˈbɒs(k)ɪs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /pɹoʊˈbɒs(k)ɪs/ (Canada, dialectal) of the US

Etymology

From Latin proboscis, from Ancient Greek προβοσκίς (proboskís, “elephant's trunk”) literally "means for taking food," from προ- (pro-, “before”) + βόσκω (bóskō, “to nourish, feed”), from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷeh₃- from which also comes βοτάνη (botánē, “grass, fodder”).

Meanings

1. An elongated tube from the head or connected to the mouth, of an animal.
   • Don Caldwell, editor-in-chief of the site Know Your Meme, namechecks Brr Brr Patapim, “a proboscis monkey that is also a tree”, as one who made it to YouTube. 2025 June 25, Elle Hunt, “From Chimpanzini Bananini to Ballerina Cappuccina: how gen alpha went wild for Italian brain rot animals”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
2. An elongated tube from the head or connected to the mouth, of an animal. ▸ The tubular feeding and sucking organ of certain invertebrates like insects, worms and molluscs.
   • Unlike the proboscides of Lower brachyceran lineages, which are continuous with the head capsule and tend to dangle (Matsuda 1965), the proboscides of most cyclorrhaphan species are suspended by a membranous region and divided into three functional parts: the basiproboscis (rostrum), medioproboscis (haustellum), and distiproboscis (labellum), each of which is defined by internal muscles but also shares muscles with the other regions (Graham-Smith 1930; Lall and Davies 1971). 2012, Brian Wiegmann, The Evolutionary Biology of Flies, page 225:
3. An elongated tube from the head or connected to the mouth, of an animal. ▸ The trunk of an elephant.
4. (humorous, informal, mildly) A large or lengthy human nose.

Forms

Deriveds

proboscis worm · proboscislike · proboscis monkey · probosciform

Translations (40)

nb snabel (elongated tube) · he חֵדֶק (elongated tube) · hu pödörnyelv (elongated tube) · es probóscide (elongated tube) · ro proboscidă (elongated tube) · ca probòscide (elongated tube) · cmn 象鼻 (elongated tube) · nn snabel (elongated tube) · vo sugaprobod (elongated tube) · io rostro (elongated tube) · ga próboscas (elongated tube) · ar خُرْطُوم (elongated tube) · eo rostro (elongated tube) · vo probod (elongated tube) · cmn 吻 (elongated tube) · bg хобот (elongated tube) · pt probóscida (elongated tube) · uk хобото́к (elongated tube) · ru хо́бот (elongated tube) · ja 吻 (elongated tube) · de Rüssel (elongated tube) · fr trompe (elongated tube) · fi kärsä (elongated tube) · ota خرطوم (elongated tube) · sk cuciak (elongated tube) · nl slurf (elongated tube) · ru хобото́к (elongated tube) · cy sugnydd (elongated tube) · cy trwnc (elongated tube) · hu ormány (elongated tube) · fr proboscide (elongated tube) · oc proboscide (elongated tube) · cs sosák (elongated tube) · pl ssawka (elongated tube) · pt probóscide (elongated tube) · it proboscide (elongated tube) · hy կնճիթ (elongated tube) · cmn 長鼻 /长鼻 (elongated tube) · sv snabel (elongated tube) · fi imukärsä (elongated tube)