Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The groove running from the septum of the nose down the central line of the upper lip.
  • noun A philter.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The shallow groove running down the center of the outer surface of the upper lip.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the Ancient Greek φίλτρον (philtron), from φιλέω ("to love, to kiss").

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Examples

  • She said that it was called the philtrum, that it was one of the places where the soul lived.

    KILLING COUSINS ALEX MINTER 2003

  • She said that it was called the philtrum, that it was one of the places where the soul lived.

    KILLING COUSINS ALEX MINTER 2003

  • She said that it was called the philtrum, that it was one of the places where the soul lived.

    KILLING COUSINS ALEX MINTER 2003

  • For some reason that made me Google "philtrum" -- I guess people must Google their "favorite body parts" -- and the incredibly weird thing is that it took me here.

    A man and his mustache. Ann Althouse 2005

  • Yet four members of the group shared a kind of family resemblance: they were stunted in stature, with small heads, flattened faces, drooping eyelids, and smooth upper lips lacking the groove known as a philtrum.

    Origins Annie Murphy Paul 2010

  • The right cheek, then the left, feeling for missed spots along the jaw line, and next the upper lip, the sides and that middle dent called the philtrum, and finally the fussy section, where most cuts occur, between the lower lip and the knob of the chin.

    A Toast to the Visible World: Remembering John Updike - Paper Cuts Blog - NYTimes.com 2009

  • The right cheek, then the left, feeling for missed spots along the jaw line, and next the upper lip, the sides and that middle dent called the philtrum, and finally the fussy section, where most cuts occur, between the lower lip and the knob of the chin.

    A Toast to the Visible World: Remembering John Updike - Paper Cuts Blog - NYTimes.com 2009

  • The interval between the two medial bands corresponds with the depression, called the philtrum, seen on the lip beneath the septum of the nose.

    IV. Myology. 4d. The Muscles of the Mouth 1918

  • And, my favorite, the midline indentation in the upper lip, is termed the philtrum ` love potion. '

    VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VI No 1 1979

  • I also like philtrum, which is the vertical indentation above one’s upper lip.

    Dear Clusterflock | clusterflock 2009

Comments

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  • The groove in the upper lip that runs from the top of the lip to the nose.

    Yes, we all have rather less appealing names for this, don't we? ;-)

    February 23, 2007

  • I don't. I didn't know it had a name, until I saw it in a Superman novel.

    October 6, 2007

  • Believe me, it's better that way. ;-)

    April 9, 2008