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Definition of phallus - 6 dictionary results

phal⋅lus

  [fal-uhs]
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–noun, plural phal⋅li  [fal-ahy] , phal⋅lus⋅es.
1. an image of the male reproductive organ, esp. that carried in procession in ancient festivals of Dionysus, or Bacchus, symbolizing the generative power in nature.
2. Anatomy. the penis, the clitoris, or the sexually undifferentiated embryonic organ out of which either of these develops.
Origin:
1605–15; < L < Gk phallós penis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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phal·lus   (fāl'əs)   
n.   pl. phal·li (fāl'ī') or phal·lus·es
  1. Anatomy
    1. The penis.
    2. The sexually undifferentiated tissue in an embryo that becomes the penis or clitoris.
  2. A representation of the penis and testes as an embodiment of generative power.
  3. The immature penis considered in psychoanalysis as the libidinal object of infantile sexuality in the male.

[Late Latin, from Greek phallos; see bhel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Phallus

Phal"lus\, n.; pl. Phalli. [L., a phallus (in sense 1), Gr. ?.]

1. The emblem of the generative power in nature, carried in procession in the Bacchic orgies, or worshiped in various ways.

2. (Anat.) The penis or clitoris, or the embryonic or primitive organ from which either may be derived.

3. (Bot.) A genus of fungi which have a fetid and disgusting odor; the stinkhorn.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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phallus 
1613, "an image of the penis," from L. phallus, from Gk. phallos "penis," also "carving or image of an erect penis (symbolizing the generative power in nature) used in the cult of Dionysus," from PIE *bhel-no-, from base *bhel- "to inflate, swell" (cf. O.N. boli "bull," O.E. bulluc "little bull," and Gk. phalle "whale," see bole). Used of the penis itself (often in symbolic context) from 1924, originally in jargon of psychoanalysis. Phallic "pertaining to the phallus" (1789) is from Gk. phallikos, from phallos. First record of phallic symbol is from 1907.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: phal·lus
Pronunciation: 'fal-&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural phal·li /'fal-"I, -"E/ or phal·lus·es
1 : PENIS
2 : the first embryonic rudiment of thevertebrate penis or clitoris
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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phallus phal·lus (fāl'əs)
n. pl. phal·lus·es or phal·li (fāl'ī')

  1. The penis.
  2. The sexually undifferentiated tissue in an embryo that becomes the penis or clitoris.
  3. The immature penis considered in psychoanalysis as the libidinal object of infantile sexuality in the male.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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