testis
[tes-tis]
- the male gonad or reproductive gland, either of two oval glands located in the scrotum.
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Origin of testis
1675–85; < Latin: “witness, spectator, testicle.” The sense “male gonad” is a loan translation from Greek parastátēs “bystander, supporter (at law),” in medical usage (in the dual and plural) “the (pair of) glands lying side by side, the testicles” (equivalent to para- para-1 + the combining form -statēs, from histánai “to make stand.”) Compare Greekprostátēs “one who stands in front, ruler,” in medical usage “the gland lying in front, the prostate”
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for teste
Historical Examples
Teste David cum Sibylla, clearly and beautifully the voice resumed.
The MonsterEdgar Saltus
Several high rocks (Teste Isles) in sight when they stood off for the night served next morning as a connecting point.
To the north and south of the Teste de Buch the chain of sand-hills measures from 4400 to 6600 feet in width.
The Desert WorldArthur Mangin
Teste me ipso apud Eboracum, v die Marcii, anno regni nostri duodecimo.
The Grey Friars in OxfordAndrew G. Little
Teste me ipso apud Westmonasterium, xiij die Decembris, anno regni nostri xlijo.
The Grey Friars in OxfordAndrew G. Little
testis
- another word for testicle
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin, literally: witness (to masculinity)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for teste
testis
n.
(plural testes), 1704, from Latin testis "testicle," usually regarded as a special application of testis "witness" (see testament), presumably because it "bears witness" to virility (cf. Greek parastates, literally "one that stands by;" and French slang témoins, literally "witnesses"). But Buck thinks Greek parastatai "testicles" has been wrongly associated with the legal sense of parastates "supporter, defender" and suggests instead parastatai in the sense of twin "supporting pillars, props of a mast," etc. Walde, meanwhile, suggests a connection between testis and testa "pot, shell, etc."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
testis
(tĕs′tĭs)- The male reproductive gland, the source of spermatozoa and the androgens, normally occurring paired in an external scrotum.didymus orchis
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
testis
[tĕs′tĭs]
- The primary reproductive organ of male animals, in which sperm and the male sex hormones (androgens) are produced. In most vertebrates, the testes are contained inside the body. In many mammals, however, the testes are enclosed in an external scrotum.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.