See Also: lung(encyclopedia)
lung-gom-pa(dictionary)
lung(dictionary)
lung bud(medicine)
lung(dictionary)
Lung(medicine)
LUNG KEE(finance)
farmer's lung(medicine)
lung window(medicine)
hyperlucent lung(medicine)

lung (iou)



lung noun.
[Old English lungen = Old Frisian lungen, Middle Low German lunge, Middle Dutch longe (Dutch long), Old High German lungun (German Lunge), corresp. to Old Norse lunga, from Germanic from Indo-European base repr. also by LIGHT adjective1. Named from their lightness: cf. LIGHTS.]
The respiratory organ which brings air into contact with the blood in many vertebrates, occurring usually in pairs in the thorax and communicating through bronchi with the windpipe; a respiratory organ in some invertebrates. See also iron lung s.v. IRON noun & adjective. OE.
P. Barker She was aware of the movement of her lungs, sucking in and expelling air.
b. fig. A place where fresh air can be breathed; in pl., the parks and open spaces in or close to a city. Foll. by for, of. E19.
L. Mumford The urban park..the 'lungs' of the city. South Wales Echo The planners..want the land to the west of Caerphilly to remain as a lung for the town.
sing. & in pl. A person who blows a fire; a chemist's assistant. E-M17.
Phrases: black lung: see BLACK adjective. lungs of oak, lungs of the oak a tree lichen, Lobaria pulmonaria, formerly reputed to be of value in treating disorders of the lung. miner's lung: see MINER.
Comb.: lung book = book-lung s.v. BOOK noun; lung-fever pneumonia; lung fluke a parasitic trematode flatworm of the genus Paragonimus; lung-power strength of voice; lungworm any of various nematode worms parasitic in the lungs of mammals, esp. of some farm and domestic animals. See also LUNGFISH.
lungful noun as much as will fill the lungs; spec. a quantity of inhaled cigarette-smoke: M19.
lungless adjective E17.