phallus

American  

[fal-uhs] / ˈfæl əs /

noun

• phalli,
  plural
• phalluses
  plural

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.

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phallus British  

/ ˈfæləs /

noun

1. another word for penis

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• phalli
  plural
• phalluses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of phallus

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phallus phalli phalluses

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

When a drawing, made recently by one host, Ellie Harrison, accidentally bore a slight resemblance to a phallus, the Express headline read: “Fans in Turmoil as Ellie Harrison Draws ‘Penis’ on Family Show.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2017

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

It belongs to Siva, = the sun, = fire, = the phallus, = life.

From Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism With an Essay on Baal Worship, On The Assyrian Sacred "Grove," And Other by Thomas Inman

Moreover, we find that many of these small phalli were worn for personal decoration; and here we come to a still lower decadence in sex worship,—the period of superstition.

From The Sex Worship and Symbolism of Primitive Races An Interpretation by Sanger Brown

There is no documentary evidence as to the character of the objects in question, and they may be explained otherwise than as phalli.

From Introduction to the History of Religions Handbooks on the History of Religions, Volume IV by Morris Jastrow

So are anacondas, prehistoric birds, dancing devils with Olympic phalluses, a plump life-sized chorus line and a sweet and soignée jazz quartet of marionettes.

From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2011