||Vi*bris"sa (?), n.; pl. Vibrissæ (#). [L. vibrissae, pl., the hairs in the nostrils of man, fr. vibrare to vibrate; -- so called because touching them tickles a person, and causes him to shake his head.] 1. (Anat.) One of the specialized or tactile hairs which grow about the nostrils, or on other parts of the face, in many animals, as the so-called whiskers of the cat, and the hairs of the nostrils of man.

2. (Zoöl.) The bristlelike feathers near the mouth of many birds.

||Vi*bris"sa (?), n.; pl. Vibrissæ (#). [L. vibrissae, pl., the hairs in the nostrils of man, fr. vibrare to vibrate; -- so called because touching them tickles a person, and causes him to shake his head.] 1. (Anat.) One of the specialized or tactile hairs which grow about the nostrils, or on other parts of the face, in many animals, as the so-called whiskers of the cat, and the hairs of the nostrils of man.

2. (Zoöl.) The bristlelike feathers near the mouth of many birds.