testis
[ tes-tis ]
/ ˈtɛs tɪs /
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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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. 2019
Examples from the Web for testis
British Dictionary definitions for testis
Word Origin for testis
C17: from Latin, literally: witness (to masculinity)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for testis
testis
(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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.