phallus

American  

[fal-uhs] / ˈfæl əs /

noun

plural

phalli, phalluses

1. an image of the male reproductive organ, especially that carried in procession in ancient festivals of Dionysus, or Bacchus, symbolizing the generative power in nature.

2. Anatomy. the penis, the clitoris, or the sexually undifferentiated embryonic organ out of which either of these develops.

---

phallus British  

/ ˈfæləs /

noun

1. another word for penis

2. an image of the penis, esp as a religious symbol of reproductive power

---

Etymology

Origin of phallus

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin, from Greek phallós “penis”; bull ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

At his initial consultation, in March 2018, they explained how they would split his surgery into three stages: one for the initial creation of the phallus, and two for constructing the neo-urethra.

From New York Times • May 10, 2022

I have brought him to see the film – centred around a 19th-century brick phallus on a godforsaken, storm-lashed rock off the coast of Maine – to get the insider’s view.

From The Guardian • Feb. 6, 2020

Multiple surgeries are required to create a phallus, and these surgeries have a high rate of complications.

From Slate • Mar. 15, 2018

The team discovered that, even though the tuatara has no external phallus, it grows the beginnings of one during development.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 27, 2015

To the scientific mind, anthropologists or ethnologists were a horde who darkly muttered of serpent worship, phallus worship, Arkite doctrines, and the Ten Lost Tribes that kept turning up in the most unexpected places.

From The Making of Religion by Lang, Andrew