orifice
UK /ˈɒɹɪfɪs/ · US /ˈɔɹəfɪs/ noun
Forms orifices
- noun A mouth or aperture, such as of a tube, pipe, etc.; an opening. “the orifice of an artery or vein; the orifice of a wound; he entered the cave's gaping orifice”
- noun One of the natural external openings of the human or animal body. “the vagina and other orifices”
- noun (slang, derogatory) A stupid or objectionable person.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle French, from Old French, from Late Latin ōrificium (“an opening, literally the making of a mouth”), compound of ōs (“mouth”) + faciō (“to make”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A mouth or aperture, as of a tube, pipe, etc.; an opening; as, the orifice of an artery or vein; the orifice of a wound. Shak.
Etymology [F., from L. orificium; os, oris, a mouth + facere to make. See Oral, and Fact.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “orifice”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details