# Clitoris and toes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2005, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770 "2005-04-11T10:30:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/1 "2005-04-11T10:30:20Z")
A) Clitoris. Realdo Colombo (a relative of Christopher Columbos I think) in the 16th century claims to be first to have discovered it, but I’d recon one or two had know of ifs existence some times before that? – even though most men apparently still has only a somewhat foggy notion of what and where it is. The word clitoris is a new greek/latin addition to European languages from the seventeen century. But surely there must have existed a word to describe this, to some essential, part of the human anatomy before that? Or what? Is it known what it was called before “clitoris” was used? Bablefish gives the same name in English, Dutch, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and it’s called clitoris in Danish too. That the same word has managed to enter all the larger European languages seem to indicate there was no prior word. And the word “clitoris” is a new invention in Greece too – it wasn’t used in classical Greek. Other words to describe bits of the female sex also seem surprisingly new inventions. B) Toes. The toes between the big toe and little toe, do they have individual names? ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/2 "2005-04-11T10:36:43Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > B) Toes. > The toes between the big toe and little toe, do they have individual names? Yes. Their names are Meeny, Miney, and Moe. The big toe is affectionately known as Eeeny. The little toe is, of course, named ‘Cried All the Way Home.’ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/3 "2005-04-11T11:38:05Z")
Don’t forget the one who went to market. And the one who had roast beef. And the one who had none. And the one who stayed home. Sheesh! If we can’t remember the classics, we’ll just lose 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/4 "2005-04-11T11:41:38Z")
> [@quiltguy154](#): > > Don’t forget the one who went to market. And the one who had roast beef. And the one who had none. And the one who stayed home. Sheesh! If we can’t remember the classics, we’ll just lose 'em. ok! Clitoris is that the one who went to market then? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/5 "2005-04-11T11:44:32Z")
Aren’t they index toe, middle toe, ring toe, and pinky toe? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/6 "2005-04-11T11:56:25Z")
Since the world was created only about 6,000 years ago, there has not been enough time to invent further terms. 😉 [http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev\_date.htm](http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_date.htm) > [@](#): > > "Dr. John Lightfoot, (1602 - 1675), an Anglican clergyman, rabbinical scholar, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge had already arrived at an estimate of 4004-OCT-23 BCE, at 9 AM. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/7 "2005-04-11T12:16:42Z")
You know, I was expecting a completely different OP. 😃 I can also tell you that in Portuguese (at least Brazilian Portuguese) the slang terms: “pinguelo” and “grelo” are used more frequently than “clitoris”. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/8 "2005-04-11T12:18:30Z")
Two great tastes that taste great together… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/9 "2005-04-11T12:35:55Z")
I would be very surprised if 99% of the female population of the world weren’t well aware of the clitoris long before Realdo Colombo claims to have found it, they just didn’t feel the need to shout about it from the rooftops 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/10 "2005-04-11T12:45:11Z")
A) The clitoris was discovered by its owner within a few years of its invention. Until recently women have refused to discuss it in any detail with men. This is because they knew that if we had a good understanding of its precise location and operation we wouldn’t try as hard. Sneaky, eh? B) Je Swee Sans Clue ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/11 "2005-04-11T12:56:19Z")
Realdo Colombo discovered the clitoris but thought that everyone that had one was an Indian. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/12 "2005-04-11T12:59:12Z")
Christopher Columbus set out to discover India by going the long way around, but on the way, he ran into America by mistake, then claimed to have discovered it (when in fact there were people right there who were already quite familiar with it). A little known fact is that Realdo Columbo actually set out to discover the _anus_, by going the long way around… (fill in the blanks). Pretty sure the toe in the middle is called the _middle toe_ - if it isn’t, we should start calling it that right away. The other two toes… do they need names? I mean, if you call them the _second_ and _fourth_, there’s the possibility that someone might start counting from the wrong end. It’s probably easier to point and say ‘that one there’. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/13 "2005-04-11T13:06:17Z")
From looking at websites selling toerings it seems the convention is to name the toes: big toe, index toe, middle toe, fourth toe, pinkie (or little) toe. Whilst the toering industry isn’t known for creating naming standards I imagine if you stick to that system you won’t have any problems describing a particular digit to someone over the phone. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/14 "2005-04-11T13:29:14Z")
Just a WAG here, but perhaps the relative freshness of the word “clitoris” is due to the fact that, prior to recent times (in at least Western culture), women weren’t supposed to be sexual themselves. Just objects for sex by men. It would at least be interesting to see someone with better research skills than I look this up. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/15 "2005-04-11T13:35:19Z")
[Did Renaldus Columbus discover the clitoris in 1559?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_212b.html) > [@](#): > > You haven’t grasped the totality of this, Mark. Renaldus was born in 1516. Can you imagine a guy who proclaims to the world his discovery of the clitoris … at age 43? Incidentally, he apparently died that same year. Too bad. They say his wife was about to broach the subject of foreplay. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/16 "2005-04-11T14:35:47Z")
In the “Junior Mint” episode, Seinfeld could only remember his date’s name rhymes with a female body part, and only the last scene does he shout “Dolores”. The retelling of the story led to man getting fired and a lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/17 "2005-04-11T14:48:47Z")
[music] \*Heads and Shoulders Clitoris and Toes (Clitoris and Toes!) Head and Shoulder Clitoris and Toes (Clitoris and Toes!) \*…[/music] ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/18 "2005-04-11T14:55:16Z")
I’m not renewing. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/19 "2005-04-11T14:57:50Z")
> [@Electronic Chaos](#): > > It would at least be interesting to see someone with better research skills than I look this up. You want someone to research the clitoris? Who would do such a job? ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770/20 "2005-04-11T16:21:39Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > Is it known what it was called before “clitoris” was used? From Havelock Ellis’s [_Studies in the Psychology of Sex_](http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/3/6/1/13614/13614-h/13614-h.htm) (1927): > [@](#): > > Columbus was not its discoverer, for Fallopius speedily showed that Avicenna and Albucasis had referred to it. The Arabs appear to have been very familiar with it, and, from the various names they gave it, clearly understood the important part it plays in generating voluptuous emotion. But it was known in classic antiquity; the Greeks called it μύρτον, the myrtle-berry; Galen and Soranus called it νύμφη because it is covered as a bride is veiled, while the old Latin name was _tentigo_, from its power of entering into erection, and _columella_, the little pillar, from its shape. The modern term, which is Greek and refers to the sensitiveness of the part to voluptuous titillation, is said to have originated with Suidas and Pollux. It was mentioned, though not adopted, by Rufus. Suidas and Pollux were Greek lexicographers of the 10th and 2nd centuries respectively, while Rufus of Ephesus was writing c. 100 CE, so the modern name is itself quite old. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clitoris-and-toes/298770.md?page=2)