noun
pl. -·cheae· or -·cheas- in the respiratory tract of most land vertebrates, the tube extending from the larynx to the two bronchi; windpipe
- in the respiratory system of insects and certain other invertebrates, any of the tubules branching throughout the body and conducting air from the exterior
- Bot. vessel (sense )
Origin of trachea
Middle English trache from Medieval Latin trachea from Late Latin trachia, windpipe from Classical Greek tracheia (arteria), rough (windpipe) from trachys, rough, akin to thrassein, to confuse from Indo-European base an unverified form dher-, dark residue, dirt from source dregs
