vagina
/vəˈdʒaɪnə/
noun
Origin
Latin
vagina — sheath, scabbard, covering
Overview
Meaning Now
- The muscular canal in the female mammal extending from the uterus to the external genitalia.
Literal older meaning
a sheath or scabbard
Language path
Latin → English
Earliest form
vagina
Earliest period
17th century
Journey
The term was borrowed directly from Latin by anatomists in the 17th century to provide a precise scientific term for the female reproductive tract, moving away from colloquial or euphemistic language of the time.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*wāg-
“to break or to fold”
Root meaning 'to fold' likely led to the sense of a sheath.
- Latin
vagina
“scabbard, sword-sheath”
Used literally for an object container.
- Anatomical Latin
vagina
“anatomical canal”
Coined as a medical metaphor for the sheath-like structure.
- 17th-century English
vagina
“anatomical canal”
Direct loanword adopted for medical clarity.
Connections
Word parts
vagina
root
sheath
Related across languages
Latin
scabbard
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.