I’m so relieved now that this is cleared up. I can’t tell you how many times this has come up (pardon the pun) while working at the sex toy shop. The next time someone starts to argue for ‘peni’ (usually in an attempt to sound smart) I’ll tell them to get the straight dope.
Yet again, the straight dope has come to my rescue.
Thanks!
It seems as if we’ve done this before, and came to some sort of accord on penes, evidenced by the fact that it was in some book… the great gatsby?
After reading the plural of dick(s), It reminded me of the old Revolutionary song Yankee Doodle. I searched the archives and found the thread on the origin of Yankee Doodle(3jan2001). I was surprised to read the word doodle’s origin was listed as unknown. Well It may not be traceble back to B.C. But it is, with the word Yankee, a slang term for Penis. or more directly Yankee Prick!
Now that it is a grade-school fun song, We seem to want to change that it was a demeaning song, that was used to ridicule our Revolutionary fathers.
**Bibliophage ** says: **I like clitorises, but the Latin form clitorides is also acceptable. **
… just wanted to say – I like clitorises too…
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, gbrohman, glad to have you with us. The origin of “yankee” is described by Cecil in What’s the origin of the word “yankee”?
Thanks for the article. Screwed up Latin plurals really grate on me, especially the ignorant-and-proud-of-it perverse overgeneralization of the -ii plural. I’ve seen quite a lot of penii for instance, and once I came across Apiciusii (which was particularly frustrating, because for that word the correct plural, Apicii does actually end in -ii, so they had to go the extra mile to get it wrong.)
One note though:
While “octopus” should really be third declension, treating it as second declension seems to be very old. Compare the similar and often synonymous polypus, which is treated as second declension in Latin (plural polypi) even though historically it should be third (plural *polypodes). Furthermore, it turns out that even in Greek it was sometimes treated as second declension. I mean, if it only happened in latin we could attribute it to dumb Romans making up “pseudo-Greek plurals,” but if even the Greeks got it wrong then… well I guess it isn’t wrong 
Note also the better known inconsistant treatment of Oedipus (again, both in Latin and Greek). Of course we don’t get much call to pluralize Oedipus in English.
Yes Master;
I read that, But i was refering to the word DOODLE.
In the post on the origin of the song Yankee Doodle, it stated the word doodle was of unknown origin.
Latter,
GBRO
From Tom Arctus:
According to Merriam-Webster Online, “testicle” comes from testiculus (via ME *testicule), the diminuitive form of testis. My printed New Lexicon Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language agrees.
“Testify” comes from Latin testificare.
I don’t know who wrote that horrid entry for “testify” at wordorigins.org(referenced in the link by Moo the Magic Cow). To say that testify doesn’t derive from testicle because it derives from testis instead doesn’t support or disprove the story about Romans testifying touching their balls. A Roman would presumably touch his testes, the plural of testis; only later would testiculus (plural testiculi?) become the slang. In short, “testify” derives from the diminuitive for “male gonads” in Latin, and, thus, from testis ultimately. None of which says anything about how Roman males fondled themselves while swearing oaths.
What a great read. I love language, but come to hate English more everyday.
No, no. “Bush administration” is what penises DO. 
Nobody has yet asked the ultimate related question:
What is the plural of “Lexus?”
…and don’t give me “cars”…or “units”…or any other funny business. I would accept “Lexuses” if it didn’t spread, Mississippi-like, to “Lexusususes.”
Since “Lexus” is not a Latin word, the only admissible candidate is “Lexuses”