Meaning
A hole, an aperture, especially a nostril.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
From Middle English thirl, thiril, from Old English þyrel (“hole”), from Proto-West Germanic *þurhil, from Proto-Germanic *þurhilą (“hole, opening”), from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂kʷelo- which is *tr̥h₂kʷe + *-lo, from *terh₂-. Related to thrill, drill. By surface analysis, through + -le.
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025.