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tragus

American  
[trey-guhs] / ˈtreɪ gəs /

noun

Anatomy.
  • tragi
    plural
  1. a fleshy prominence at the front of the external opening of the ear.


tragus British  
/ ˈtreɪɡəs /

noun

  1. the cartilaginous fleshy projection that partially covers the entrance to the external ear

  2. any of the hairs that grow just inside this entrance

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of tragus

1685–95; < Late Latin < Greek trágos hairy part of ear, literally, he-goat

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Tumbling weeds are not uncommon, but no other species have been so large or as devoid of natural predators as S. tragus.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 17, 2025

A sideburn that stops short of the bottom of the tragus will pass inspection most anywhere.

From Slate Nov. 19, 2014

DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle sharper; face hairy; ears pointed; tragus long; colour dark brown; illustration in Dobson's Monograph.

From Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon by Robert Armitage Sterndale

The conch of the ear very large, and joined together on the top of the head; tragus large and bifurcated; nasal membranes complicated; no tail; wings remarkably ample.

From Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon by Robert Armitage Sterndale

Unlike the Rhinolophidae, their eyes are generally large and the tragus is well developed, maintaining almost the same form throughout the species, however much the other parts of the body may vary.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 2 "Chicago, University of" to "Chiton" by Various

Yesterday I sent off my tragi comedy to Mr. Kemble.

From The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 6 Letters 1821-1842 by Mary Lamb

We should thus pass before us, in artistic expression, and therefore in universal appeal, the historic drama of the great civic past, the mingled present, the phantasmagoria and the tragi comedy of both of these.

From Civics: as Applied Sociology by Patrick Geddes

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