Nipple
part of the breast
The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in lactating females, milk from the mammary gland leaves the body through the lactiferous ducts to nurse an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively, or it can be ejected by smooth muscle contractions that occur along with the ductal system. The nipple is surrounded by the areola, which is often a darker colour than the surrounding skin.
When referring to non-humans, the female nipple is often called a teat. "Nipple" or "teat" can also be used to describe the flexible mouthpiece of a baby bottle. Male mammals also have nipples, but without the same level of function or prominence.
In humans, the nipples of both females and males can be sexually stimulated as part of sexual arousal. In many cultures, female nipples are sexualized, or regarded as sex objects and evaluated in terms of their physical characteristics and sex appeal. As such, there are often mores for their coverage.
Etymology
The word nipple most likely originates as a diminutive of neb, an Old English word of Germanic origin meaning "beak", "nose", or "face".
The public source identifies “Nipple” as part of the breast. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Nipple, part and breast.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Nipple”, the useful work is to connect “part of the breast” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q188641. The Library of Congress control number is sh2009007031. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Nipple” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.