testiculus Latin · revision 34722

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=86/82 BC, Rhetorica ad Herennium|origins=la testis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [tɛsˈtɪ.kʊ.ɫʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [tesˈtiː.ku.lus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''testiculus''' ''m'' (genitive testiculī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|testis|-culus|t1=testicle]],^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) a diminutive.^(Lewis & Short 1879) De Vaan explains the use of [[m|la|testis|t=witness]] for the testicle by comparison with Greek usage, where the testicles are called the two “bystanders”; the noun itself goes back to [[itc-pro|*tri-sto/i-]] and [[ine-pro|*trito-sth₂-o-|t=third standing (by)]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the ''Rhetorica ad Herennium'',^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Gaffiot 2016) and de Vaan records the plural ''testiculi'' from Varro on.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Celsus uses it in his medical work, and Juvenal and Martial in satire and epigram.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Gaffiot 2016) Persius uses it figuratively for manly vigour, asking whether any vein of the paternal ''testiculus'' still lives in us.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) In the Pseudo-Apuleian herbal it is the name of a plant,^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) which Gaffiot identifies as the orchis.^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ It appears in the Vulgate and in the early medieval law codes,^(Köbler 2010) and British medieval Latin also used it of the ovary and of part of a plant.^(DMLBS) English [[m|en|testicle]], first recorded in the early 15th century, is an alteration of an earlier ''testicule'' from Latin ''testiculus''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 86/82 BC – The ''Rhetorica ad Herennium'' uses it.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it in medicine.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 34–62 AD – Persius uses it for manliness.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * End of the 4th century AD – The Pseudo-Apuleian herbal uses it as a plant name.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * Early 15th century – English ''testicle'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|testicle]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(figurative)'' [[m|en|manliness|alt=Manliness]], manly vigour.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+ # A plant, the [[m|en|orchis]].^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[testiculātus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[testis]]

+ * [[en|testicle]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}