proboscis

Noun

Synonyms: trunk

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

the human nose (especially when it is large)
a long flexible snout as of an elephantSynonyms: trunk

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Proboscis \Pro*bos"cis\, n.; pl. Proboscides. [L. fr. Gr. ?; ? before + ? to feed, graze.]

1.(Zool.) A hollow organ or tube attached to the head, or connected with the mouth, of various animals, and generally used in taking food or drink; a snout; a trunk. [1913 Webster]

Note: The proboscis of an elephant is a flexible muscular elongation of the nose. The proboscis of insects is usually a chitinous tube formed by the modified maxill[ae], or by the labium. See Illusts. of Hemiptera and Lepidoptera. [1913 Webster]

2.(Zool.) By extension, applied to various tubelike mouth organs of the lower animals that can be everted or protruded. [1913 Webster]

Note: The proboscis of annelids and of mollusks is usually a portion of the pharynx that can be everted or protruded. That of nemerteans is a special long internal organ, not connected with the mouth, and not used in feeding, but capable of being protruded from a pore in the head. See Illust. in Appendix. [1913 Webster]

3.The nose. [Jocose] [1913 Webster]

Proboscis monkey. (Zool.) See Kahau. [1913 Webster]

The Devil's Dictionary

PROBOSCIS, n. The rudimentary organ of an elephant which serves him in place of the knife-and-fork that Evolution has as yet denied him. For purposes of humor it is popularly called a trunk. Asked how he knew that an elephant was going on a journey, the illustrious Jo. Miller cast a reproachful look upon his tormentor, and answered, absently: "When it is ajar," and threw himself from a high promontory into the sea. Thus perished in his pride the most famous humorist of antiquity, leaving to mankind a heritage of woe! No successor worthy of the title has appeared, though Mr. Edward Bok, of _The Ladies' Home Journal_, is much respected for the purity and sweetness of his personal character.