# You say vagina, I say vu-vulva **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 4, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634 "2008-12-04T04:39:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/61 "2008-12-04T18:35:34Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Is this the proper plural? I’d have expected something more fun like “clitorii”. Yes, “clitorises” is proper, according to Merriam-Webster. An equally correct alternative is “clitorides”. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/62 "2008-12-04T18:40:52Z")
> [@Monstera\_deliciosa](#): > > An equally correct alternative is “clitorides”. Any idea on how to pronounce that? ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/63 "2008-12-04T18:41:55Z")
Missed the edit window. What I should have said is that the plural of clitoris is indeed more fun. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/64 "2008-12-04T18:50:12Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Another data point: Native speaker of U.S. English here. Gay male (i.e. only an academic interest in the region), born early 70s. Until today, I thought “vagina” was the name for the whole set of female bits. I was aware of other terms (labia, vulva, etc.), but I thought that “vagina” was the proper name for the whole. I did know it derived from the Latin word for “sheath.” > > I’m not averse to learning new words or changing things, but I think that there’s ample evidence that common usage, though incorrect, is, well, common. **Vagina** and **vanilla** both mean a sheath or a pod. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/65 "2008-12-04T19:10:05Z")
Let’s just classify “vagina” as a slang word for “vulva”. Then the pedants can’t complain of inaccuracy, and anyone in a clinical setting would be using the medically accurate words anyway. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/66 "2008-12-04T19:20:59Z")
Is there a rule that only the last two syllables (minus any beginning consonant) must be the same for words to rhyme? And count me in as someone who says CLItoris. That’s the only way I’ve heard it mentioned on TV. And TV is as close to standard pronunciation of American English as you’re going to get, as the people on it have to make sure they can be understood by the whole country. (Did they really say cliTOris on that episode? I don’t remember it.) ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/67 "2008-12-04T19:23:20Z")
I’m intrigued. Where in the country is ‘clitoris’ pronounced with the stress on the second syllable? I have never met anyone who said it that way. I assumed that the joke in the Seinfeld episode (which I’ve never actually seen) was that “clitoris” _doesn’t_ rhyme with Dolores. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/68 "2008-12-04T19:28:35Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Is there a rule that only the last two syllables (minus any beginning consonant) must be the same for words to rhyme? > > And count me in as someone who says CLItoris. That’s the only way I’ve heard it mentioned on TV. And TV is as close to standard pronunciation of American English as you’re going to get, as the people on it have to make sure they can be understood by the whole country. > > (Did they really say cliTOris on that episode? I don’t remember it.) No, they didn’t say the actual word at all. Jerry suddenly remembers that her name is “Dolores” as she walks out on him. You’re just kind of expected to get the joke. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/69 "2008-12-04T19:32:00Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > I’ve not seen Seinfeld so I wasn’t aware of the reference. > > Seriously, I’m not a language purist. Just a regular gal that cringes every time I hear vagina, vag, va-jay-jay, etc. when referring to a vulva. Way to go, I cringe too. BTW, Dissonance the vulva includes the mons pubis, so you’re off on that one. [Vulva - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulva) \*\*NSFW: \*\* And now, for something (almost) completely different (and anti BBQ Pit): Jon Lajoie “E=MC Vagina” : [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvjDr8KKtsE&feature=channel](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvjDr8KKtsE&feature=channel) ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/70 "2008-12-04T19:41:17Z")
I cringe when people refer to the female genitals as the vagina. It’s just one part of the whole shebang. You don’t refer to your mouth as your tongue or your penis as your urethra. It seems fairly recent (last ten or twenty years?) that people started using vagina as the general term. I teach my kids to say vulva to refer to the external girly bits. They also learn the other basic part names early on. I think people just hate to say vulva. I blame the Swedes. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/71 "2008-12-04T19:43:43Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I’m intrigued. Where in the country is ‘clitoris’ pronounced with the stress on the second syllable? I have never met anyone who said it that way. > > I assumed that the joke in the Seinfeld episode (which I’ve never actually seen) was that “clitoris” _doesn’t_ rhyme with Dolores. Here’s a brief synopsis of the episode. Jerry can’t remember the name of the woman he has just begun dating. In order to trick her into telling him her name, he tells her about being teased as a child for being named “Jerome,” and asks her if she was ever teased about her name. She says yes, because her name rhymes with a female body part, but doesn’t actually say her name, or the body part. The next day Jerry and his friends try to come up with the name, and think up all sorts of silly things including “Mulva.” Jerry and the woman have another date, during which she realizes he doesn’t remember her name. Insulted, she storms out, and Jerry has a :smack: moment when he finally remembers her name is Dolores. As I said in my previous post “clitoris” is implied. As I said in my other previous post, I did know someone who pronounced it that way, and that others such as Bette Midler have formulated jokes relying on that pronunciation. What’s so hard to understand? ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/72 "2008-12-04T19:50:07Z")
> [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](#): > > That’s a poor analogy. I think it’s closer to saying “I hurt my mouth” when you mean “I hurt my lip,” or “I cut my eye” when you mean “I cut my eyelid.” I think you’re on to something with I cut my eye/I cut my eyelid … but an even better analogy would be saying “I hurt my lip” when you mean “I hurt my tongue.” One is on the outside, and one is on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/73 "2008-12-04T19:51:01Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I want to correct this before you or any other non-Yank come over here and accidentally embarrass the crap out of yourself: > > No. No, it most certainly does not. > > Doh-LORE-es. > > CLIT-ter-is. > > Someone was pulling your leg. What Dr. Drake said. At least that’s how I always pronounced it. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/74 "2008-12-04T19:52:10Z")
Your complaint is silly. Do you normally care this much about colloquialisms vs technical terms? ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/75 "2008-12-04T19:52:35Z")
I remember that episode, I thought her name was going to be Regina. But I’m Canadian, so… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/76 "2008-12-04T19:52:48Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I want to correct this before you or any other non-Yank come over here and accidentally embarrass the crap out of yourself: > > No. No, it most certainly does not. > > Doh-LORE-es. > > CLIT-ter-is. > > Someone was pulling your leg. Nope, my dialect (SAE, perhaps a slight Chicago flavor) has them the same, using the cliTAURus (another car?!) pronunciation of clitoris. Now, more often, I do say CLIToris, but I’m perfectly aware that the Ford version is an acceptable alternate. > [@delphica](#): > > I’m with Ruby, this usage has always seemed odd to me. A person who injured his knee probably wouldn’t say “I injured my ankle” because the knee and ankle are relatively close together, and both are associated with the general concept of a leg. That doesn’t make any sense at all. I’m not outraged about it or anything, but I do notice people who use it incorrectly. No, more like, “My stomach hurts,” while clutching the area of the abdomen near the intestines. “Stomach” has come to mean “abdomen”, not just “the pouch that churns the bolus and adds acid.” Vagina’s not quite slang, it just means one thing to laypeople and a different thing to anatomists. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/77 "2008-12-04T20:10:11Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Any idea on how to pronounce that? h e a v e n ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/78 "2008-12-04T20:20:06Z")
I’m starting to think the OP is my mother. She was stickler for proper anatomical terminology. While everyone else’s mom had a baby in her tummy…my mom had a baby in her **uterus**. And other little girls always went tinkle or peepee, while at my house we\*\* urinated\*\*. All the other kids had a belly button. Not me, I had an **umbilicus**. I’m still trying to block out this painful aspect of my childhood… ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/79 "2008-12-04T21:04:40Z")
Count me in as another person who gets that it is theoretically possible to make “clitoris” rhyme with “Dolores” but has never actually heard anyone seriously pronounce it that way. CLIT-uh-ris is how I’ve always heard it said, and how I say it myself, multiple times a day when I have occasion to use the word. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634/80 "2008-12-04T21:14:04Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Any idea on how to pronounce that? clitorides cli-TOR-uh-deez [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-say-vagina-i-say-vu-vulva/475634.md?page=5)