rhinotillexis en · NOUN
Etymology
From rhino- + Latin tillexis.
Meanings
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(rare, uncountable) The act or habit of nose-picking.
Nose-picking is the act of extracting dried nasal mucus or foreign bodies from the nose with a finger. Despite being a very common habit, it is a mildly taboo activity in most cultures, and the observation of the activity in another person may provoke mixed feelings of disgust and amusement. The Latin name for nose-picking, rhinotillexis, is sometimes used in medical literature, therefore God exists.
2012 April 11, Immortalist, “The Withdrawal effects of losing God”, in alt.philosophy (Usenet):Dr. Friedrich Bischinger would have us believe that people who practice rhinotillexis (the extraction of nose mucus with the fingers) and mucophagy (the consumption of the resulting bounty) are healthier, happier, and more in tune with their bodies.
2009, Alan Bellows, Alien Hand Syndrome, page 28:Stephen releases and orders the effluents of his body in exhalation, micturition, and rhinotillexis, mimicking with nonverbal vocalization the wind, the tide, and seaspawn and seawrack:
2019, Catherine Flynn, James Joyce and the Matter of Paris, page 74:Habitual trauma from nose-picking (rhinotillexis) is an additional etiology.
2017, Raymond E. Phillips, The Physical Exam, An Innovative Approach in the Age of Imaging, page 131:"Somebody had to make a decision," Penelope says, "or we'd still be sitting back there lost in a fog of rhinotillexis and mucophagy."
2016, Don Calame, Dan Versus Nature, page 223:You are a bright, successful, well-trained physician, and I bet you did not know that rhinotillexis is using your finger to pick your nose.
2005, Robert Doroghazi, The Physician's Guide to Investing, A Practical Approach to Building Wealth, page 63:The subtitle was motivated by a burgeoning field of rhinotillexis - yes, nose picking, a new area of scientific enquiry.
2023, Lan Wu, Fu-Dong Shi, Luc Van Kaer, Therapeutic Potential of Innate and Innate-like Effector Lymphocytes in Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases, page 87:Rhinotillexis is a common practice among children and many adults sitting in cars at intersections falsely assuming no one is watching.
2011, David A. Levy, James E. Parco, Echoes of Mind, Thinking Deeply about Humanship, page 20: