vagina (English)

Where does "vagina" come from?

The English word 'vagina' is a learned borrowing from the Latin word 'vāgīna', which means 'a sheath, scabbard; a covering, sheath, holder'[1]. This Latin term traces back to the Proto-Italic form '*wāgīnā'[1][2].

Open questions

• The Proto-Italic form is reconstructed and possibly derived from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning sheath or cover. [2]

Full etymology tree

• vagina (English), 'A sex organ leading from the vulval vestibule/urogenital sinus to the cervix of the uterus for copulation and birth in female therian mammals.'
  • learned borrowing vagina (Latin), 'a sheath, scabbard'
    • inherited *wāgīnā (Proto-Italic)
      • derived *wag- (Proto-Indo-European)

Ancestors

• vagina (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• neovagina (English)
• sand in one's vagina (English)
• vag (English)
• vag (English)
• vag (English)
• vag (English)
• vagin- (English)
• vagina envy (English)
• vaginaless (English)
• vaginalike (English)
• vagina lips (English)
• vaginamoney (English)

Sources

1. vagina (English) - Wiktionary
2. vagina (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris