clitoris
cli·to·ris
noun
Origin
From post-classical New Latin clītoris (16th century), from Koine Greek κλειτορίς (kleitorís), probably from Ancient Greek κλείω (kleíō, “to sheathe, shut”), in reference to it being covered by the labia minora. The related noun form κλείς (kleís) has a second meaning of "a key, a latch or hook (to close a door)." Wooden pegs were the original keys; a connection also revealed in Latin clavis (“nail”) and claudere (“to shut”) (see close). Some medical sources give a supposed Greek verb κλειτοριάζω (kleitoriázō, “touch or titillate lasciviously, tickle”) literally "to be inclined (toward pleasure)" (compare German Kitzler (“clitoris”, literally “tickler”), related to Greek κλειτύς (kleitús, “shut, closed”), a variant of κλιτύς (klitús, “hillside”), related to κλίνω (klínō, “to slope”), from the same root as κλῖμαξ (klîmax, “ladder”). But many sources take κλειτορίς (kleitorís) literally as Ancient Greek "little hill".
Phrases
- clitoral foreskin
- clitoral glans
- clitoral hood
- glans clitoridis
- glans clitoris
- os clitoridis
- praeputium clitoridis
Related words
Broader terms
Parts
Part of
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.