Gonades

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The pair of organs in animals that produce sperm or eggs and secrete hormones controlling sexual development and function
2. Reproductive glands that generate gametes and release hormones regulating sexual characteristics and reproduction
3. Sex organs that manufacture reproductive cells and generate the hormones governing sexual maturation and fertility

Etymology: "Gonades" is the plural of "gonad," the reproductive gland that produces sex cells, such as the ovaries or testes. "Gonad" is a modern scientific coinage built from the Greek "gonos," meaning "offspring" or "seed," which comes from "gignesthai," "to be born." Ancient Greek speakers did not use the term itself; scientists assembled it from their vocabulary to name the organs that make seed or eggs.