Etymograph

English

pudendum

Pudendum comes from Latin pudenda ‘that whereof one ought to feel shame’, and goes back to pudeō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpudeō1as pudet‘it shames’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpudenda1‘that whereof one ought to feel shame’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1961pudendum1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English pudendum
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs: “Wax models of the pudenda of both sexes were…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpudeōWiktionary, English pudendumas pudet‘it shames’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpudendaWiktionary, English pudendum‘that whereof one ought to feel shame’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1961pudendumWiktionary, English pudendum. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs: “Wax models of the pudenda of both sexes were…”

Linked words

through Latin pudeō ‘it shames’

repudiation, repudiate, impudent, 10 more

Today it means

noun External genital organs in a human; especially a woman's vulva.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pudendum”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin pudeō / pudendum

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