The DU Lounge

Lionel Mandrake

(4,209 posts) Sun Apr 1, 2012, 03:01 PM Apr 2012

Oral Sex Etymology [View all]

For your amusement and edification, here are the etymologies of two clinical terms whose meanings are already familiar to you:

"fellatio"
ORIGIN late 19th cent.: modern Latin, from Latin fellare ‘to suck.’

"cunnilingus"
ORIGIN late 19th cent.: from Latin, from cunnus ‘vulva’ + lingere ‘lick.’

There is a vulgar word (which I won't repeat) that you might think was also derived from "cunnus", but the facts are otherwise:
ORIGIN Middle English : of Germanic origin; related to Norwegian and Swedish dialect "kunta", and Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, and Danish dialect "kunte".

45 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Oral Sex Etymology [View all] Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 OP

I wonder what pipi_k Apr 2012 #1

I'm not going there...n/t Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #6

The cat swears Chaucer is his slave name. His real name in Kunta Kitteh. n/t davsand Apr 2012 #24

Latin could have been more interesting in school jakeXT Apr 2012 #2

One whorehouse in Pompeii had an especially rich assortment of graffiti. Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #4

I visited the Pompei exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. Ian David Apr 2012 #9

Let's see those photos, please, Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #12

Probably a bed.. I assume jakeXT Apr 2012 #13

I saw that documentary! "Pompeii: Sex with Ancient Aliens?" n/t Ian David Apr 2012 #16

Here you go. Ian David Apr 2012 #15

I can just hear the conversation at the museum. Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #18

The caption pretty much explains that yes, this is a sexual act. Ian David Apr 2012 #19

early waterbed Kali Apr 2012 #21

Heh heh. Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #23

That act is, as they say, like American beer - fucking close to water. MiddleFingerMom Apr 2012 #29

LOL. Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #34

The Romans had a swear word "fellator" meaning "cock-sucker" Odin2005 Apr 2012 #3

fellator, fellatoris Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #5

Fellator sounds like a superhero name. Especially if you put the emphasis on the "a." n/t Ian David Apr 2012 #10

Faster than a horny teenager, Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #11

That's why happy Romans were called retread Apr 2012 #45

This thread is making me horny Boops Apr 2012 #7

I'd recommend having sex with another person, Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #8

This is not a sex thread. rug Apr 2012 #14

Cunning linguists are a lot of fun, Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #20

You have brought this subject to a head. retread Apr 2012 #17

This can be a deeply spurtual experience. Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #22

"Colonel Angus can be very messy" Denninmi Apr 2012 #25

Yes, but the women can't seem to get enough of him. Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #26

The etymology of the word etymology is particularly apropos in your usage here. MiddleFingerMom Apr 2012 #27

It's so popular, the Cranberries wrote a song.... WCGreen Apr 2012 #28

art kentauros Apr 2012 #30

What about "lickety split"? RedCloud Apr 2012 #31

It is the educational side of DU that I enjoy most rurallib Apr 2012 #32

You're welcome. Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #35

I read where fuck came from "Found under carnal knowledge" LynneSin Apr 2012 #33

In olden times, if you were "found under carnal knowledge", Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #36

FUCK Fornication Of Unusual Carnal Knowledge crunch60 Apr 2012 #37

Fornication Of Unitarian Carnal Kindness Bucky Apr 2012 #39

No, fuck goes way back to Anglo-Saxon roots. It's not an acronym. Bucky Apr 2012 #38

Right. Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #42

The Latin and Germanic terms almost certainly share IndoEuropean roots Bucky Apr 2012 #40

Maybe so, Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #41

Kunte Rockne: "Let's win one for the Gipper." Amerigo Vespucci Apr 2012 #43

Ronald Raygun kept repeating that phrase during his campaigns. Lionel Mandrake Apr 2012 #44