VAGINA

vagina

(noun) the lower part of the female reproductive tract; a moist canal in female mammals extending from the labia minora to the uterus; “the vagina receives the penis during coitus”; “the vagina is elastic enough to allow the passage of a fetus”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

vagina (plural vaginas or vaginae or vaginæ)

(anatomy) The passage leading from the opening of the vulva to the cervix of the uterus for copulation and childbirth in female mammals.

Synonym: Thesaurus:vagina

(zoology) A similar part in some invertebrates.

(botany) A sheath-like structure, such as the leaf of a grass that surrounds a stem.

Synonym: sheath

(colloquial) The vulva.

Synonym: Thesaurus:vulva

Usage notes

In technical discussions of anatomy, the vagina is a wholly internal structure and the vulva is wholly external, but in common use (since at least the 1930s), vagina can refer to the vulva or function as a general term for the entire genitalia.

Hypernyms

• genitals

Anagrams

• Gavina

Source: Wiktionary

Va*gi"na, n.; pl. Vaginæ. Etym: [L. vagina a scabbard or sheath.]

1. (Anat.) (a) A sheath; a theca; as, the vagina of the portal vein. (b) Specifically, the canal which leads from the uterus to the external orifice if the genital canal, or to the cloaca.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: The terminal part of the oviduct in insects and various other invertebrates. See Illust., of Spermatheca.

3. (Bot.)

Definition: The basal expansion of certain leaves, which inwraps the stem; a sheath.

4. (Arch.)

Definition: The shaft of a terminus, from which the bust of figure seems to issue or arise.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition