testicle (n.)

early 15c., alteration of testicule (late 14c.), from Latin testiculus, diminutive of testis "testicle" (see testis). Old English had beallucas (see ballocks) and herþan, probably originally "leather bag" (compare heorþa "deer-skin"). The commonest slang terms for them in other languages are words that mean "balls," "stones," "nuts," "eggs."

Entries linking to testicle

testis (n.)

(plural testes), 1704, from Latin testis "testicle," usually regarded as a special application of testis "witness" (see testament), presumably because it "bears witness to male virility" [Barnhart]. Stories that trace the use of the Latin word to some supposed swearing-in ceremony are modern and groundless.

Compare Greek parastatai "testicles," from parastates "one that stands by;" and French slang témoins, literally "witnesses." But Buck thinks Greek parastatai "testicles" has been wrongly associated with the legal sense of parastates "supporter, defender" and suggests instead parastatai in the sense of twin "supporting pillars, props of a mast," etc. Or it might be a euphemistic use of the word in the sense "comrades." OED, meanwhile, points to Walde's suggestion of a connection between testis and testa "pot, shell, etc." (see tete).

ballocks (n.)

"testicles," from Old English beallucas, plural diminutive, from Proto-Germanic *ball-, from PIE root *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell."

testicular (adj.)

1650s, from Latin testiculus (see testicle) + -ar.

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Definitions of testicle

testicle (n.)

one of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens;

Synonyms: testis / orchis / ball / ballock / bollock / nut / egg

From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near testicle

testamentary

testate

testator

tester

testes

testicle

testicular

testify

testimonial

testimony

testis