'nares' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'nāres' (plural of 'nāris'), where 'nāris' meant 'nostril'.

'nares' came into English via Latin usage in anatomical contexts; the Latin 'nāres' (pl. of 'nāris') was adopted into scientific and medical English, preserving the form 'nares' as the plural of 'naris'.

Initially, it meant 'nostril' in Latin and this meaning has been preserved in modern usage as the anatomical term for the nostrils.