‖ clitoris Phys.
(ˈklaɪtɒrɪs)
[a. Gr. κλειτορίς, perh. f. κλεί-ειν to shut.]
A homologue of the male penis, present, as a rudimentary organ, in the females of many of the higher vertebrata.
| 1615 Crooke Body of Man 226 These Ligaments..do degenerate into a broad and sinewy slendernes..vppon which the Clitoris cleaueth and is tyed. Ibid. 238. 1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. 216 Cutting the Clitoris..which is revera a little Yard. 1836 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 482/2 The clitoris is found in all the Carnivora. 1871 Huxley Anat. Vert. An. 111 In some few mammals (e.g. the Lemuridæ) the clitoris is traversed by a urethral canal. |