Vagina

Definition & meaning

The term refers to the internal female genital organ. It is a muscular, elastic canal that connects the external female genitalia (the vulva) to the uterus. In a biological and medical context, it serves as the birth canal during childbirth and as the passage for menstrual blood.

In everyday German, the term is used in anatomical and medical contexts.

Grammar & Word origin

• Grammar: The word is a feminine noun (die Vagina). The plural is die Vaginen.
• Word origin: The word is a direct loan from Latin, where vagina literally means "sheath" or "scabbard" (originally for a sword). It entered the German language through medical terminology.

Synonyms & antonyms

• Synonyms:
  • der Mutterschaftskanal ↗ (medical/descriptive)
  • der Scheidengang ↗ (anatomical)
  • die Scheide ↗ (the most common German term)
• Antonyms:
  • None (as it is a specific anatomical term, there is no direct semantic opposite).