Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A testis, especially one contained within a scrotum.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One of the two glands in the male which secrete the spermatozoa and some of the fluid elements of the semen; a testis.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Anat.) One of the essential male genital glands which secrete the semen.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The male sex and endocrine gland, found in some types of animals, that produces sperm and male sex hormones, including the steroid testosterone.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun one of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English testicule, from Latin testiculus, diminutive of testis, testis; see testis.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin testiculum, testicle, diminutive of testis, witness + diminutive suffix -ulum

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Examples

  • A testicle is worth more than a fallopian tube – at least according to Swedish authorities.

    Testicles ‘Worth More than Fallopian Tubes’ | Impact Lab 2007

  • Personally, I don't have any first-hand experience with the topic, so I couldn't give you my opinion on the validity of Diamond's findings on racial differences in testicle sizes, but Diamond seems pretty fascinated by the question.

    Jared Diamond didn't used to be so boring Steve Sailer 2005

  • Personally, I don’t have a lot of first-hand experience, so I couldn’t give you my opinion on the validity of Diamond’s findings on racial differences in testicle size.

    Matthew Yglesias » Haiti 2010

  • Personally, I don’t have a lot of first-hand experience, so I couldn’t give you my opinion on the validity of Diamond’s findings on racial differences in testicle size.

    Matthew Yglesias » Haiti 2010

  • Each testicle is in its own compartment, and while my doctor was cutting/tying/cauterizing the right vas deferens he nicked (and either didn’t see or didn’t properly cauterize) an artery that later proceeded to fill up the right compartment with blood.

    My Vasectomy, Part 2 « Become A Robot 2008

  • It’s not like the water’s going to hurt his 3rd testicle is it?

    CHINA TOO REAL FOR BATMAN 2007

  • Food fact of the day: The avocado is known as the testicle plant—not just because it’s shaped like the lovely sperm holders, but because it grows in pairs, and one side hangs lower than the other really, we’re not kidding about the plant.

    You Staying Young MEHMET C. OZ 2007

  • Food fact of the day: The avocado is known as the testicle plant—not just because it’s shaped like the lovely sperm holders, but because it grows in pairs, and one side hangs lower than the other really, we’re not kidding about the plant.

    You Staying Young MEHMET C. OZ 2007

  • Food fact of the day: The avocado is known as the testicle plant—not just because it’s shaped like the lovely sperm holders, but because it grows in pairs, and one side hangs lower than the other really, we’re not kidding about the plant.

    You Staying Young MEHMET C. OZ 2007

  • After your son receives general anesthesia, the surgeon will make an incision in his groin area, and locate the undescended testicle, which is usually in the inguinal canal above the scrotum.

    Pediatric surgery: Undescended Testicles 2008

Comments

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  • A humorous question on an exam. --Mensa word list winner 2006

    March 2, 2007

  • two different plants have this in their etymology--through two different languages.

    August 4, 2009

  • One of these plants is orchid.

    August 4, 2009

  • Is the other one avocado?

    August 4, 2009

  • As I've always said, "orchidectomy's just another word for nothing left to lose".

    August 5, 2009

  • yes and yes.

    August 5, 2009