veretrum

== Latin == === Etymology === Uncertain. Ostensibly from vereor (“to show respect, fear”) +‎ -trum (suffix forming instrumental nouns), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to watch, cover; to heed, notice”); however, De Vaan (2008) is unconvinced by this etymology, and Adams (1990) considers the meaning unexpected for an instrumental derivative of this root. Attested from Varro onwards. === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈwɛ.rɛ.trũː], [wɛˈrɛt.rũː] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈvɛː.re.trum], [veˈrɛt.rum] === Noun === veretrum n (genitive veretrī); second declension the external genitals (male or female), penis, vulva; the clitoris Synonyms: verenda, pudenda, genitālia, partēs, membra, nātūra ==== Usage notes ==== Although several sources (Isidore, De Vaan) cite this word as referring specifically to the male genitals, the 4-5th century physician Caelius Aurelianus uses it to refer to the female reproductive organ as a whole. This restriction would also make redundant the phrase virīle veretrum (in Varro). ==== Declension ==== Second-declension noun (neuter). ==== Derived terms ==== veretilla === References === === Further reading === “uerētrum” on page 2244 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012) “veretrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “veretrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers "veretrum", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887) “veretrum”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.