LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

pēnis

pēnis m (genitive pēnis)
Classical[ˈpeː.nɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈpɛː.nis]

Meaning

  1. archaictail
  2. penis (male sexual organ)
  3. figurativelylust

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepēnispēnēs
genitivepēnispēnium
dativepēnīpēnibus
accusativepēnempēnēs
pēnīs
ablativepēnepēnibus
vocativepēnispēnēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

penes aliquem esse
to be in a person's power.
penes te arbitrium huius rei est
the decision of the question rests with you.

pēnis, is, m. (abl. peni, Naev. ap. Fest. p. 230 Müll.) [τὸ πέος],
I. a tail.
I. In gen. (ante-class.): caudam antiqui penem vocabant, Cic. Fam. 9, 22, 2: ... lares ludentes peni pinxit bubulo, Naev. ap. Fest. p. 230 Müll.—
II. In partic., = membrum virile, the penis; also, by meton., for lust (class.): hodie penis est in obscenis, Cic. Fam. 9, 22, 2: ganeo, manu, ventre, pene bona patria laceraverat, Sall. C. 14, 2; Hor. Epod. 12, 8; Juv. 9, 43; Arn. 5, 18.—In a paron. with paene, Plaut. Truc. 2, 6, 37.

Origins

Traditionally compared with Ancient Greek πέος (péos), Sanskrit पस॑स् (pásas), Old English fæsl (“offspring”) and derived from Proto-Italic *peznis, from Proto-Indo-European *pes-ni-s, from *pes- (“penis”). De Vaan is skeptical of this in view of the attested chronology of the word's semantics, where “tail” is older than “penis”, which also aligns with the expected semantic development of such a word (compare e.g. Old Armenian ձետ (jet, “tail”) > Middle Armenian ձետ (jet, “penis”)); the reverse development is less likely. Instead, he reconstructs a Proto-Italic form *petsnis (“tail”) and connects the word to penna (“wing; feather”).

Descendants
  • Catalanpenis
  • Englishpenis
  • Frenchpénis
  • GermanPenis
  • Italianpene
  • Portuguesepénis
  • Romanianpenis
  • Spanishpene
  • Italianpenellofrom Vulgar Latin *pēnellus
  • Italianpennellofrom Vulgar Latin *pēnellus

Quick answers

What does pēnis mean in Latin?
pēnis, a noun, means “tail; penis (male sexual organ); lust”.
What is the genitive of pēnis?
The genitive singular is pēnis. pēnis is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce pēnis?
In classical Latin, [ˈpeː.nɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpɛː.nis].