phallus
pronunciation
How to pronounce phallus in British English:
UK [ˈfæləs]
How to pronounce phallus in American English:
US [ˈfæləs]
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- Noun:
- the male organ of copulation (`member' is a euphemism)
Word Origin
- phallus (n.)
- 1610s, "an image of the penis," from Latin phallus, from Greek phallos "penis," also "carving or image of an erect penis (symbolizing the generative power in nature) used in the cult of Dionysus," from PIE *bhel-no-, from root *bhel- (2) "to blow, inflate, swell" (cognates: Old Norse boli "bull," Old English bulluc "little bull," and possibly Greek phalle "whale;" see bole). Used of the penis itself (often in symbolic context) from 1924, originally in jargon of psychoanalysis.