auricular, a. and n.
(ɔːˈrɪkjʊlə(r))
Also 6 aurycular(e.
[ad. med.L. auriculāris, f. auricula: see prec. and -ar1. Cf. F. auriculaire, 16th c.]
A. adj.
1. Of or pertaining to the ear.
| 1649 Bulwer Pathomyot. ii. ii. 108 Having the auricular muscles bigger than ordinary. 1850 Sir W. Jardine Humming Birds I. 48 Forming auricular tufts of the same colour. |
2. Perceived by the ear; audible.
| 1579 G. Harvey Letter-Bk. (1884) 61 Quippinge notorious or auricular iybinge on every hande. 1605 Shakes. Lear i. ii. 99 You shall..by an Auricular assurance haue your satisfaction. 1654 Lestrange Chas. I (1655) 92 So suddain a death afforded him not the respiration of auricular contrition. |
† b. Hearsay, oral, traditional. Obs.
| 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. iv. §11. 1626 ― Sylva §326 The Alchemists call in..auricular traditions, feigned testimonies of ancient authors and the like. |
c. esp. (in auricular confession): Addressed to the ear; told privately in the ear.
| 1542 Brinklow Complaynt xix. (1874) 46 That auryculare confessyon, which is the preuy chamber of treason. 1651 C. Cartwright Cert. Relig. i. 164 The Popish confession is auricular (as it is called), secret, in the eare of a Priest. 1839 Hallam Hist. Lit. (1847) II. 22 The practice of auricular confession brought with it an entire science of casuistry. |
† 3. Addressing, affecting, or employing the ear only (to the exclusion of mental apprehension).
| 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie (Arb.) 172 Reaching no higher then th'eare and forcing the mynde little or nothing..is the office of the auricular figures. 1638 Mede Rev. God's House 54 (T.) By hearing is meant in this place not auricular hearing but practical. 1740 Cibber Apol. (1756) I. 74 Not mere auricular imitators of one another. |
4. auricular witness: one who relates what he has heard. (Cf. ocular, and F. témoin auriculaire.)
| 1642 Howell For. Trav. (Arb.) 13 One eye-witness is of more validity than ten auricular. 1878 Daily News 9 Jan. 6/1 Alluded to as an auricular witness by the Estafette. |
5. Pertaining to the auricle of the heart.
| 1870 Rolleston Anim. Life 101 This ‘pericardial’ or ‘auricular’ membrane. 1872 Huxley Phys. ii. 42 The moment the auricular systole is over. |
6. Shaped like an auricle.
| 1857 Bullock Cazeaux's Midwif. 21 A semilunar articular surface..called the auricular facet. 1872 Nicholson Palæont. 211 Tubular spines..abundant upon the auricular expansion. |
B. n. An auricular organ or part. spec. a. A tuft of feathers covering the orifice of a bird's ear. b. The little finger, as the one most easily inserted in the ear: cf. Fr. doigt auriculaire.
| 1797 T. Bewick Brit. Birds (1847) I. 12 The plumage..plain on the auriculars. a 1845 Hood Tale Trumpet iii, For each auricular Was deaf as a post. 1874 Coues Birds N.-W. 126 A post-ocular stripe just over the auriculars. |