tragus

[trey-guhs]

noun

Anatomy.

plural

tragi 

1. a fleshy prominence at the front of the external opening of the ear.

tragus

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• tragal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tragus¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tragus¹

C17: from Late Latin, from Greek tragos hairy projection of the ear, literally: goat

Example Sentences

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

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Smith underwent two operations in 2015 to remove her outer and inner ear, lymph nodes, tragus, salivary glands and temporal bones, according to Kennedy News and Media.

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Were they too much for comfort, I asked Johan, a cherubic Belgian salesman with a thin gold ring threaded through the tragus of one ear.

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I had been O.K. with the tattoo she had gotten earlier in the year and the tragus piercing before that, but I hit a wall at the septum piercing.

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The TSA even maintains a blog, The TSA Blog, which chronicles the tragi­comic discoveries that routinely occur at our nation’s airports.

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