TESTICLES
In ancient Rome, the word “testari” meant to be a witness. A derivative of the wore – “testes” – came to refer to a man’s testicles, since these were a witness to his manhood. Testimony, testament, and testify were all derived from the same root as testicles.
PENIS
Penis shares the same origin as the words pencil and penicillin. All are derived from the Latin “penis,” which meant a tail.
COCK
As a synonym for “penis,” the word cock dates back at least to the sixteenth century. It was likely derived from an earlier and still current use of the word to mean a spout or short pipe through which liquid passes. In a sexual context, it was not really considered lewd or impolite until the early 1800’s. It can be found in Shakespeare’s Henry V (1599): “pistol’s cock is up, and flashing fire will follow.” Laurence Olivier’s 1945 film version of the play retained the line, but the censors of the day were either too ignorant or, less probably, too enlightened to object to it.
SEMEN
Semen is derived from the Latin “semen,” meaning seed. The word “seminary” – a place where intellectual seeds are sown – also came from “semen.”
DICK
Dick probably came from the older English word “dirk,” meaning a small sword. “Dirk,” in turn, was derived from “dorke,” meaning the horns of an animal. “Dirk” and “dork” were also once slang expressions for the penis.
COME, CUM
The origin of come for semen is not exactly known. As a verb, come has had a sexual sense at least since the sixteenth century, when the phrases “come at” and “Come in unto” referred to sexual intercourse. In the nineteenth century, come, again as a verb, referred to the highly suggestive context of butter forming in a churn: the butter had come; that is, it had formed. Another possible connection is the seventeenth-century English word “come,” which referred to a kind of very sweet honey. The alternate spelling cum probably originated with writers and editors who wanted an easy way for the eye to distinguish it from the more common verb “to come.”
MASTURBATE
There are two theories of where the word masturbate comes from. One holds that it is derived from the Latin words “mazdo,” meaning penis, and “turba,” Meaning agitation: agitation of the penis. Another claims that it is from the Latin words “manus,” meaning hand, and “stuprare,” meaning defilement: to defile oneself with one’s hand.
