sb. pl. Also 6 faulses. [Latin.] See also FAUX.
1. Anat. The cavity at the back of the mouth, from which the larynx and pharynx open out.
1541. R. Copland, Guydon’s Quest. Chirurg., Demaunde. Whereof serueth the encla, & the amygdales and faulses and where are they sette? Answere. Fyrste they serue to prepare the breth & are set behynde the tongue towarde the palays.
1746. R. James, Introd. Mouffet’s Health’s Improv., 3. The alimentary Mass … is thrust towards the Fauces.
1805. Med. Jrnl., XIV. 114. Without producing much affection of his salivary glands and fauces.
1878. Habershon, Dis. Abdomen (ed. 3), 33. The anterior fauces are greatly narrowed.
transf. 1800. Hurdis, The Favourite Village, 17.
| Or e’er he pours into the distant deep, | |
| Through the wide fauces of yon hiant cliffs, | |
| Th’ obsequious lake that urges him along? |
2. a. Bot. The throat of a calyx, corolla, etc. b. Conch. That portion of the first chamber of a shell which can be seen from the aperture.
1840. Paxton, Bot. Dict., Fauces, the gaping part of monopetalous flowers.
