Yonis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A symbolic representation in Hinduism and tantra denoting the female generative organ as an emblem of divine feminine energy and fertility
2. An iconographic form often used in religious art and spiritual practice that signifies the source of life and creative power associated with womanhood
3. A sacred symbol representing the womb or vagina, highlighting themes of creation, birth, and the manifestation of cosmic energy in certain cultural and religious contexts

Etymology: "Yonis" is the plural of "yoni", a word borrowed from Sanskrit "योनि" (yoni), which originally meant "womb", "source" or "place of origin". In Hindu texts and ritual vocabulary, the term carried this sense of a generative origin point, and it was applied to the sacred symbol that later entered English-language writing about Hindu and Tantric traditions. Because "yoni" is a noun that was borrowed as a loanword rather than built from English parts, its plural follows English practice by adding "-s", giving "yonis". The singular is the form most often used in English, with the plural appearing when writers refer to several such symbols or depictions at once.