cere

¹ American  

[seer] / sɪər /

noun

Ornithology.

1. a fleshy, membranous covering of the base of the upper mandible of a bird, especially a bird of prey or a parrot, through which the nostrils open.

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cere ² American  

[seer] / sɪər /

verb (used with object)

cered, cering

1. Archaic. to wrap in or as if in a cerecloth, especially a corpse.

2. Obsolete. to wax.

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cere ¹ British  

/ sɪə /

noun

1. a soft waxy swelling, containing the nostrils, at the base of the upper beak in such birds as the parrot

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cere ² British  

/ sɪə /

verb

1. (tr) to wrap (a corpse) in a cerecloth

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Other Word Forms

• cered adjective
• cereless adjective

Etymology

Origin of cere¹

1480–90; earlier sere, spelling variant of *cere < Medieval Latin cēra literally, wax < Latin

Origin of cere²

1375–1425; late Middle English ceren < Latin cērāre to wax, verbal derivative of cēra wax

Example Sentences

Cooper’s cere date also fell on a Friday the 13th as well, but the actor wrote the date as the 14th in hopes of avoiding anything suspicious.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2017

The cere, if you don't know, is a pale, soft mass of tissue at the base of the bill.

From Scientific American • Jun. 29, 2015

Note that the green-necked bird has a larger, more bulbous cere than the red-necked one.

From Scientific American • Jun. 29, 2015

The master of cere monies behaved like an inquisitor, suggesting that nothing could possibly go wrong, honesty-wise.

From Time Magazine Archive

Tail not longer than the wings; upper plumage brown, that of the head and neck lightest, lower, chocolate brown; tail white; beak, cere, and feet yellowish white; claws black.

From British Birds in their Haunts by Johns, Rev. C. A.