Smegma
/ˈsmɛɡ.mə/noun
A thick, whitish substance that can accumulate under the foreskin or around the clitoris.
Did you know?In Ancient Greek, *smegma* meant a washing or ointment, so the modern medical term preserves a word once tied to cleansing and anointing rather than disgust.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
σμῆγμα (smêgma)
“a wiping off, washing, or ointment used for cleansing”
Late Antiquity
Greek
σμηγμά
“cleansing substance; unguent”
Medieval Latin
Latin
smegma
“a medical/learned borrowing for a cleansing or unctuous substance”
17th–19th Century
English
smegma
“adopted in medical and anatomical writing”
Modern English
English
smegma
“the whitish secretion that can accumulate in certain genital areas”
Explore more surprising origins