Pillicock

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An old-fashioned affectionate term used for a dear person ; a crude slang word for the male sexual organ
2. A dated pet name expressing fondness for someone ; a vulgar colloquial term referring to the penis
3. An archaic endearment addressed to a beloved one ; coarse slang that refers to the male genitals

Etymology: Shakespeare gave this pet name its most famous outing. In "King Lear," the Fool sings "Hey, no nonny" and the phrase "pillicock" appears in a nonsense song about "Hey pillicock," but the word's real surprise is its anatomy: beneath the affectionate tone sits "cock," the old English word for a male chicken, which was also a slang term for the penis. The first element, "pil-," remains uncertain, so no firm claim about it can be made. The term first appeared in Middle English as "pilkoc," and early surnames such as Pylcock show it was used as a personal name long before it became a term of endearment. Its parallels in other languages point the same way: Scots "pillie," Danish dialect "pillerkok," and Swedish "pillesnopp" all use the word for a penis, which suggests the sense was present from the start rather than being a later bawdy twist. The pet-name use grew from the same stock. A word that once carried a crude meaning survived in playful address, which is why it now sounds quaint and vaguely comic to modern ears.

Synonyms: darling, sweetheart, dearest, pet