Etymologically
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testiculus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [tɛsˈtɪ.kʊ.ɫʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [tesˈtiː.ku.lus][1]

Forms

testiculus m (genitive testiculī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin testis (“testicle”) + -culus,[2][1] a diminutive.[3] De Vaan explains the use of testis (“witness”) for the testicle by comparison with Greek usage, where the testicles are called the two “bystanders”; the noun itself goes back to Proto-Italic *tri-sto/i- and Proto-Indo-European *trito-sth₂-o- (“third standing (by)”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Rhetorica ad Herennium,[3][5] and de Vaan records the plural testiculi from Varro on.[4]

Semantic evolution

Celsus uses it in his medical work, and Juvenal and Martial in satire and epigram.[3][5] Persius uses it figuratively for manly vigour, asking whether any vein of the paternal testiculus still lives in us.[3][6] In the Pseudo-Apuleian herbal it is the name of a plant,[3][6] which Gaffiot identifies as the orchis.[5]

It appears in the Vulgate and in the early medieval law codes,[7] and British medieval Latin also used it of the ovary and of part of a plant.[8] English testicle, first recorded in the early 15th century, is an alteration of an earlier testicule from Latin testiculus.[9]

Timeline

  • 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it.[3][7]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it in medicine.[3][7]
  • 34–62 AD – Persius uses it for manliness.[3][7]
  • End of the 4th century AD – The Pseudo-Apuleian herbal uses it as a plant name.[3][7]
  • Early 15th century – English testicle is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A testicle.[2][3]
  2. (figurative) Manliness, manly vigour.[3][6]
  3. A plant, the orchis.[5][3]

Word family

  • testiculātus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com