Origin and history of nasal

early 15c., nasale, "of or pertaining to the nose or nostrils," from Medieval Latin, from Latin nasus "nose, the nose, sense of smell," from PIE root *nas- "nose."

Of speech sounds, "uttered with resonance in the nose," attested from 1660s. As a noun, "letter or sound uttered through or partly through the nose," from 1660s. Earlier noun senses were "medicinal fluid for the nose" (early 15c.) and "part of a helmet which protects the nose and adjacent parts" (nasel, c. 1300). Related: Nasalization.