Etymologically
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phallus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpʰal.lʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈfal.lus][1]

Forms

phallus m (genitive phallī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek φαλλός (phallós, “phallus”),[2][3][1][4] which Wiktionary takes to be likely from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, swell up”), comparing follis “bag”.[1] Köbler and Etymonline also connect it with this root.[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Arnobius, for the figure of the male member carried about at the festival of Bacchus as a symbol of the generative power of nature.[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Augustine mentions it in the City of God in the same cultic sense.[2][6] Conte also gives the sense “male member” itself.[6] English took the word from Latin in the 1610s for an image of the penis.[4]

Timeline

  • 297–310 AD – Arnobius uses it for the figure carried at the festival of Bacchus.[2][3][5]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine mentions it in the City of God.[2][6][5]
  • 1610s – English borrows phallus for an image of the penis.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An image of the male member carried in the processions of the festival of Bacchus, as a symbol of the generative power of nature.[2][3]
  2. The male member, penis.[6][1]

Word family

  • triphallus
  • ithyphallicus
  • phallicus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier