trachea
[trey-kee-uh or, esp. British, truh-kee-uh]
- Anatomy, Zoology. the tube in humans and other air-breathing vertebrates extending from the larynx to the bronchi, serving as the principal passage for conveying air to and from the lungs; the windpipe.
- (in insects and other arthropods) one of the air-conveying tubes of the respiratory system.
- Botany. vessel(def 5).
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Origin of trachea
1350–1400; Middle English trache < Medieval Latin trāchēa, for Late Latin trāchīa < Greek trācheîa, short for artēría trācheîa rough artery, i.e., windpipe
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for trachea
Contemporary Examples
A plastic tube lodged in his trachea was the only thing keeping him alive.
No one has heard the Bolivarian leader speak a word (due to a surgical tube in his trachea, officials parry).
Historical Examples
Endotrachea: the inner surface or lining of the trachea: see intima.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
Intima: the lining membrane of the trachea: see endotrachea.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
Tracheation: the arrangement or system of distribution of trachea.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
The stem of the tree or bush becomes the windpipe (trachea).
A Handbook of HealthWoods Hutchinson
The forefinger must then be used to distinguish the rings of the trachea.
A Manual of the Operations of SurgeryJoseph Bell
trachea
- anatomy zoology the membranous tube with cartilaginous rings that conveys inhaled air from the larynx to the bronchiNontechnical name: windpipe
- any of the tubes in insects and related animals that convey air from the spiracles to the tissues
- botany another name for vessel (def. 5), tracheid
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Word Origin
C16: from Medieval Latin, from Greek trakheia, shortened from (artēria) trakheia rough (artery), from trakhus rough
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
Word Origin and History for trachea
n.
c.1400, from Medieval Latin trachea (mid-13c.), as in trachea arteria, from Late Latin trachia (c.400), from Greek trakheia, in trakheia arteria "windpipe," literally "rough artery" (so called from the rings of cartilage that form the trachea), from fem. of trakhys "rough." See artery for connection with windpipe in Greek science.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
trachea
(trā′kē-ə)- The airway that extends from the larynx into the thorax where it divides into the right and left bronchi. It is composed of thin incomplete rings of hyaline cartilage connected by a membrane called the annular ligament.windpipe
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
trachea
[trā′kē-ə]
- The tube in vertebrate animals that leads from the larynx to the bronchial tubes and carries air to the lungs. In mammals the trachea is strengthened by rings of cartilage. Also called windpipe
- Any of the tiny tubes originating from the spiracles of many terrestrial arthropods and forming a branching network that brings air directly to body cells.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
trachea
[(tray-kee-uh)]
The tube connecting the mouth to the bronchial tubes that carries air to the lungs; the windpipe.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.