clit·o·ris
Audio Help [klit-er-is, klahy-ter-, kli-tawr-is, -tohr-] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [klit-er-is, klahy-ter-, kli-tawr-is, -tohr-] Pronunciation Key –noun Anatomy.
| the erectile organ of the vulva, homologous to the penis of the male. |
[Origin: 1605–15; < Gk kleitorís, akin to kleíein to shut
]
] —Related forms
clit·o·ral, cli·tor·ic
Audio Help [kli-tawr-ik, -tor-, klahy-] Pronunciation Key, clit·o·rid·e·an
Audio Help [klit-uh-rid-ee-uh
n, klahy-tuh-] Pronunciation Key, adjective
Audio Help [kli-tawr-ik, -tor-, klahy-] Pronunciation Key, clit·o·rid·e·an
Audio Help [klit-uh-rid-ee-uh
n, klahy-tuh-] Pronunciation Key, adjective | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
clitoris
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| clit·o·ris
Audio Help (klĭt'ər-ĭs, klĭ-tôr'ĭs, klī'tər-ĭs) Pronunciation Key
n. A small elongated erectile organ at the anterior part of the vulva, homologous with the penis. [New Latin clītoris, from Greek kleitoris; see klei- in Indo-European roots.] clit'o·ral (-ər-əl) adj. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
clitoris
1615, coined in Mod.L., from Gk. kleitoris, a diminutive, but the exact sense is uncertain. Probably from Gk. kleiein "to sheathe," also "to shut," in reference to its being covered by the labia minora. The related noun form kleis 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 L. clovis "nail" and claudere "to shut" (see close (v.)). Some medical sources give a supposed Gk. verb kleitoriazein "to touch or titillate lasciviously, to tickle," lit. "to be inclined (toward pleasure)" (cf. Ger. slang der Kitzler "clitoris," lit. "the tickler"), related to Gk. kleitys, a variant of klitys "side of a hill," related to klinein "to slope," from the same root as climax. But many sources take kleitoris literally as Gk. "little hill." The It. anatomist Mateo Renaldo Colombo (1516-1559), professor at Padua, claimed to have discovered it (De re anatomica, 1559, p. 243). He called it amor Veneris, vel dulcedo "the love or sweetness of Venus." It had been known to women since much earlier, of course. Slang abbreviation clit first attested 1960s.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| clitoris | |
noun | |
| a female sexual organ homologous to the penis |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
clitoris [ˈklitəris] noun
female genital organ
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
| clitoris
Audio Help (klĭt'ər-ĭs, klĭ-tôr'ĭs) Pronunciation Key
A sensitive external organ of the reproductive system in female mammals and some other animals that is capable of becoming erect. It is located above or in front of the urethra. |
| The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
Clitoris
Cli"to*ris\ (? or ?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to shut up. It is concealed by the labia pudendi.] (Anat.) A small organ at the upper part of the vulva, homologous to the penis in the male.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
CLITORIS
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