smegma
pronunciation
How to pronounce smegma in British English:
UK [ˈsmegmə]
How to pronounce smegma in American English:
US [ˈsmɛɡmə]
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- Noun:
- a white secretion of the sebaceous glands of the foreskin
Word Origin
- smegma (n.)
- sebaceous secretion, 1819, from Latin, from Greek smegma "a detergent, soap, unguent," from smekhein "to wipe off, wipe clean, cleanse," from PIE root *sme- "to smear" (cognates: Czech smetana "cream," and see smear (v.)). So called from resemblance; a medical coinage, the word seems not to have been used in its literal Greek sense in English before this. Related: Smegmatic.