phallus

noun

phal·​lus ˈfa-ləs 

plural phalli ˈfa-ˌlī 

-ˌlē

or phalluses

1

: a symbol or representation of the penis

2

: penis

Examples of phallus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Coaches, fans, and players have decried the practice as misogynist and dangerous, with multiple games paused after a neon phallus hit the floor. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2025

As in, stop throwing silicone phalluses on the court at games. —James Factora, Them., 8 Aug. 2025

Shout-out to fake beards, one of the best signifiers of comedy since the ancient-Greek gag phallus. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025

Aubrey Beardsley cribbed the oversized phalluses of his erotic drawings from Japanese shunga prints. —Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 15 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin, borrowed from Greek phallós "penis, representation of the penis," of uncertain origin

Note: The Greek word has generally been taken as an outcome of the western Indo-European etymon *b^hel-, implicated in a wide range of names for things swollen or inflated, especially in Germanic (compare ball entry 1, bowl entry 1). Chantraine (Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque) suggests descent from *b^hl̥-nó-, but then hesitates on the grounds that the word does not show the dialectal variation usual with resolution of *-ln-, there being no correspondent with a lengthened vowel *phālo- (compare Attic-Ionian stḗlē "pillar, stele," Lesbian and Thessalian stallā, from *stálnā). Chantraine then adduces ballíon "phallus," a word used by Herodotus that he suggests was borrowed from "Thraco-Phrygian" (thraco-phrygien), and reconstructs for phallós a form *b^hol-i̯o-, a thematic derivative of *b^hol-i-, in heteroclitic alteration with *b^hol-(e)n-. G. Kroonen (Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, under *bul(l)an- "bull") proffers the same Indo-European reconstruction *b^hl̥-no-. However, R. Beekes (Etymological Dictionary of Greek) follows E. Furnée (Die wichtigsten konsonantischen Erscheinungen des Vorgriechischen, p. 172), who considers features of this etymon (a variant with b, in the diminutive ballíon; the variant with single l phalēt-, phalês, as well as the suffix -ēt-) as evidence of a pre-Greek substratal word. Furnée also points to the close connection of phallós with the cult of Dionysus, which likely has pre-Greek roots.

First Known Use

circa 1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for phallus

• allis
• balas
• callous
• callus
• chalice
• gallus
• malice
• malus
• palace
• pallas
• talis
• talus

Kids Definition

phallus

noun

phal·​lus ˈfal-əs 

plural phalli ˈfal-ˌī 

-ˌē

or phalluses

1

: a symbol or likeness of the male sex organ

2

: penis

phallic

ˈfal-ik

adjective

Medical Definition

phallus

noun

phal·​lus ˈfal-əs 

plural phalli ˈfal-ˌī  -ˌē  or phalluses

1

: penis

2

: the first embryonic rudiment of the vertebrate penis or clitoris