lingam

[ling-guh m]

noun

Sanskrit Grammar. the masculine gender.
(in popular Hinduism) a phallus, symbol of Siva.

Also lin·ga

[ling-guh] /ˈlɪŋ gə/.

Compare yoni.

Origin of lingam

From the Sanskrit word liṅga mark, gender, phallus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for linga

Historical Examples of linga

We returned to Linga, and all embarked in a little schooner for home.
Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak
Harriette McDougall
This tīrtha is next poured over the linga attached to the infant.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Edgar Thurston
The linga is suspended round the neck of the corpse, and buried with it.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Edgar Thurston
The child is thus invested with the linga while still in utero.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Edgar Thurston
The Linga Purana tells us that the linga was a pillar of fire in which Siva was present.
Bible Studies
Joseph M. Wheeler

British Dictionary definitions for linga

lingam

linga (ˈlɪŋɡə)

noun

(in Sanskrit grammar) the masculine gender
1. the Hindu phallic image of the god Siva
2. the penis

Word Origin for lingam

C18: from Sanskrit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for linga

lingam

"phallic emblem under which Siva is worshipped," 1719, from Sanskrit linga (nominative lingam) "mark, token, sign, emblem," of unknown origin.