Vaginae

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /vəˈd͡ʒaɪˌni/

Definitions

1. The muscular tube that connects the external genitals to the uterus in female mammals
2. A canal in the female reproductive system that serves both sexual and reproductive functions
3. The passage in which menstrual fluid exits and through which childbirth occurs in human females

Etymology: "Vaginae" is the plural of "vagina," so its history is the history of that single word. In Latin, "vagina" meant a sheath, the case that holds a sword or a scabbard-like covering for something else. The same Latin word was used for the sheath of a plant stem, and the idea was simply of a close-fitting covering around something enclosed. English borrowed the word directly from Latin "vagina" as a learned term, and its anatomical sense came later, when writers reached for the Latin word to name the passage in the body. The word therefore carried a sense of enclosure long before it named a part of the body.

Synonyms: canal, passage