auricle

[ awr-i-kuhl ]

/ ˈɔr ɪ kəl /

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noun

Anatomy.

the projecting outer portion of the ear; pinna.
Also called auricular appendage. an ear-shaped appendage projecting from each atrium of the heart.
(loosely) the atrium.

Botany, Zoology. a part like or likened to an ear.

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Origin of auricle

First recorded in 1645–55, auricle is from the Latin word auricula the (external) ear, ear lobe. See auri-², -cle¹

OTHER WORDS FROM auricle

au·ri·cled, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH auricle

auricle , oracle

Words nearby auricle

Aureomycin, aureus, au revoir, auri-, auric, auricle, auricula, auricular, auricularia, auriculate, auriculin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use auricle in a sentence

Stevenson, in one of the cases detailed at p. 67, found the blood in the right auricle to contain 0·03 per cent.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection|Alexander Wynter Blyth
In animals with cold blood, (as fishes,) the heart is single, having but one auricle and one ventricle.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy|Catherine Esther Beecher
From the left auricle it passes into the left ventricle, and is from thence distributed by the arteries all over the body.
The Matron's Manual of Midwifery, and the Diseases of Women During Pregnancy and in Childbed|Frederick Hollick
By this passage it is taken into the right auricle, along with the impure blood of the vena cava.
The Matron's Manual of Midwifery, and the Diseases of Women During Pregnancy and in Childbed|Frederick Hollick

At the end of the fourth day the auricle becomes divided into two, affording a parallel with the adult heart of many reptiles.
Form and Function|E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

British Dictionary definitions for auricle

auricle

/ (ˈɔːrɪkəl) /

noun

the upper chamber of the heart; atrium
a small sac in the atrium of the heart

Also called: pinna anatomy the external part of the ear

Also called: auricula biology an ear-shaped part or appendage, such as that occurring at the join of the leaf blade and the leaf sheath in some grasses

Derived forms of auricle

auricled, adjective

Word Origin for auricle

C17: from Latin auricula the external ear, from auris ear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for auricle

auricle

[ ôr′ĭ-kəl ]

The visible part of the outer ear.

An atrium of the heart.