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.

---

phallus British  

/ ˈfæləs /

noun

1. another word for penis

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

---

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

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

In Midlothian, in 1268, the clergy instructed their flock to sprinkle water with a dog's phallus in order to avert a murrain.

From Religion & Sex Studies in the Pathology of Religious Development by Cohen, Chapman

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 Jastrow, Morris

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 Brown, Sanger

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