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veretrum. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
veretrum, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
veretrum in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
veretrum you have here. The definition of the word
veretrum will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
veretrum, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Latin
Etymology
Ostensibly from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to watch, cover; to heed, notice”), equal to vereor (“to show respect, fear”) + -trum (“instrumental suffix”); however De Vaan (2008) is sceptical about this.
Noun
verētrum n (genitive verētrī); 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 verētrum (in Varro).
Declension
Second-declension noun (neuter).
References
- De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “vereor”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 665
- ^ “Caelius Aurelianus, Gynaeciorum Sorani e graeco versorum et retractatorum quae exstant, 1, p6, ”, in www.mlat.uzh.ch: Corpus Corporum, 2021 May 2 (last accessed), archived from the original on 2 May 2021
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’s 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.