sb. pl. [L. (Festus), f. vibrāre to VIBRATE. Cf. next.]
1. Anat. (See quots.)
1693. trans. Blancard’s Phys. Dict. (ed. 2), Vibressæ, the Hairs in the Nose.
1704. J. Harris, Lex. Techn., I. Vibrissæ, are the Hairs which grow in the Nostrils: They, with the Mucus, which the Glands separate, stop any Filth from ascending too high up into the Nostrils.
1839–47. Todd’s Cycl. Anat., III. 730/1. Those hairs … which converge from the inner circumference towards the centre of the nostril…. These hairs are of the kind named vibrissæ.
1875. Encycl. Brit., I. 885/1. The vestibule or entrance to the nasal chamber … is studded with numerous short hairs or vibrissæ.
2. Zool. Stiff or bristly hairs, esp. those growing about the mouth or other parts of the face in certain animals.
1839. Proc. Berw. Nat. Club, I. 202. These vibrissæ [of an aquatic larva] … possess no vibratory motion, nor do they appear to be furnished with ciliæ.
1871. Darwin, Desc. Man, I. i. 25. These hairs apparently represent the vibrissæ, which are used as organs of touch by many of the lower animals.
1877. Coues, Fur Anim., ix. 265. The vibrissae are sparse and short, the longest scarcely or not attaining the eye.
1899. Allbutt’s Syst. Med., VI. 490. They strongly suggest the function of vibrissæ.
b. Ornith. The coarse hairs or bristles growing about the rictus of certain birds, esp. of insectivorous species.
1874. J. G. Wood, Nat. Hist., 287. The beak of this species [of goat-sucker] is not so powerful as in many of its relatives, but the vibrissæ are long and well-developed.
