prepuce

American  

[pree-pyoos] / ˈpri pyus /

noun

Anatomy.

1. the fold of skin that covers the head of the penis; foreskin.

2. a similar covering of the clitoris.

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prepuce British  

/ ˈpriːpjuːs, priːˈpjuːʃəl /

noun

1. Nontechnical name: foreskin.  the retractable fold of skin covering the tip of the penis

2. a similar fold of skin covering the tip of the clitoris

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Other Word Forms

• preputial adjective
• subpreputial adjective

Etymology

Origin of prepuce

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin praepūtium

Example Sentences

A surgical procedure called circumcision, often performed for religious or social reasons, removes the prepuce, typically within days of birth.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

However, in the September issue of Pediatrics, the AAP rediscovered its disenchantment with the prepuce.

From Slate • Jun. 19, 2013

Vidal mentions having operated on a number of cases of this deformity of the prepuce in various degrees of growth.

From History of Circumcision from the Earliest Times to the Present Moral and Physical Reasons for its Performance by Remondino, Peter Charles

It is mostly situated on the glans and prepuce, and often attended with hemorrhage.

From North American Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, July, 1826 by Bache, Franklin

There were no adhesions, but the inner fold of the prepuce had been thickened by balanitis.

From History of Circumcision from the Earliest Times to the Present Moral and Physical Reasons for its Performance by Remondino, Peter Charles