definitions

testis

[ tes-tis ]
/ ˈtɛs tɪs /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR testis ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural tes·tes [tes-teez] /ˈtɛs tiz/. Anatomy, Zoology.

the male gonad or reproductive gland, either of two oval glands located in the scrotum.

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RELATED WORDS

genitalia, nuts, gonads, vulva, testes, stones, pudenda, ballocks, balls, cullions, rocks, heart, marrow, stomach, tongue, tripe, brains, chitlins, chitterlings

Nearby words

testimonial, testimonialize, testimony, testimony meeting, testing station, testis, testitis, teston, testosterone, testudinal, testudinate

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”
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for testis

British Dictionary definitions for testis

testis

/ (ˈtɛstɪs) /

noun plural -tes (-tiːz)

another word for testicle

Word Origin for testis

C17: from Latin, literally: witness (to masculinity)
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

Medicine definitions for testis

testis

[ tĕs′tĭs ]

n. pl. tes•tes (-tēz)

The male reproductive gland, the source of spermatozoa and the androgens, normally occurring paired in an external scrotum.didymus orchis
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Science definitions for testis

testis

[ tĕs′tĭs ]

Plural testes (tĕs′tēz)

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.