genitalia

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˌdʒɛnɪˈteɪliə/ UK /ˌdʒɛnɪˈteɪliə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the external organs of reproduction

The textbook diagram labelled the male and female genitalia.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the external organs of... genitalsprivatessex organs

Word family

Related forms genital genitive generate

Etymology

From Latin 'genitalia', neuter plural of 'genitalis' ('of generation, reproductive'), from 'genitus', past participle of 'gignere' ('to beget').

genitalis Latin gignere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# genitalia

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌdʒɛnɪˈteɪliə/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌdʒɛnɪˈteɪliə/

## Meanings
1. the external organs of reproduction

## Examples
- The textbook diagram labelled the male and female genitalia.

## Synonyms
- genitals
- privates
- sex organs

## Related Forms
- genital
- genitive
- generate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: genitalis
- Root: gignere

## Etymology
From Latin 'genitalia', neuter plural of 'genitalis' ('of generation, reproductive'), from 'genitus', past participle of 'gignere' ('to beget').

## AI Etymology
Genitalia comes from Latin 'genitalia', neuter plural of 'genitalis' ('of generation, reproductive'), from 'genitus', past participle of 'gignere' ('to beget'). The participial history matters: an older verbal form is preserved as an English adjective or derivative, so the modern word keeps the result of an action as its lexical shape. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "the external organs of reproduction", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as genital, genitive, and generate, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin genitalis and Latin gignere, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes genitals, privates, and sex organs, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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