Word.ws English Dictionary

hemipenis

UK/ˈhɛ.mɪ.piː.nɪs/

hemipenis noun: each of a pair of intromittent organs of male snakes and lizards, usually held inverted within the body but everted for reproduction via erectile tissue.

Noun

hemipenis (plural hemipenes or hemipenises)

  1. Each of a pair of intromittent organs of male snakes and lizards, usually held inverted within the body but everted for reproduction via erectile tissue.
    • Charles […] found her stroking the goanna in such a way – no one else could do it – that its pale hemipenes emerged pale and spiky from their sheaths.1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 475
    Synonyms:
    hemipeen, hemipene

Synonyms of hemipenis

Forms of hemipenis

pluralhemipenes
pluralhemipenises

Origin of hemipenis

From hemi- + penis.

Words formed from hemipenis

Questions about hemipenis

What does hemipenis mean?
Hemipenis means each of a pair of intromittent organs of male snakes and lizards, usually held inverted within the body but everted for reproduction via erectile tissue.
What part of speech is hemipenis?
Hemipenis is a noun.
How do you pronounce hemipenis?
Hemipenis is pronounced /ˈhɛ.mɪ.piː.nɪs/ (UK).
What is the plural of hemipenis?
The plural of hemipenis is hemipenes.

Words near hemipenis in the dictionary

  1. hemipenectomized
  2. hemipenectomy
  3. hemipenes
  4. hemipenial
  5. hemipenile
  6. hemipenis
  7. hemipenises
  8. hemipentahydrate
  9. hemipentahydrates
  10. hemipeptone
  11. hemipeptones

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hemipenis (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “hemipenis.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hemipenis. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.