Definitions

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

  • noun The external genitals of the female, including the labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, and vestibule of the vagina.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In anatomy, the external organs of generation of the female; especially, the orifice of these parts, the external termination of the vagina—of an elliptical contour in the human female.
  • noun In entomology, the orifice of the oviduct.
  • noun In conchology, the oval or vulviform conformation presented by certain bivalve shells when the right and left valves are in apposition. See Veneridæ

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

  • noun (Anat.) The external parts of the female genital organs; sometimes, the opening between the projecting parts of the external organs.
  • noun (Zoöl.) The orifice of the oviduct of an insect or other invertebrate.

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

  • noun anatomy The external female sexual organs, collectively.

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

  • noun external parts of the female genitalia

Etymologies

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

[Latin, womb, covering; see wel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin vulva, earlier volva ("womb, female sexual organ"), probably from volvare ("to turn, wrap around"). Akin to Sanskrit  (ulva, "womb").

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