ENGLISH
REFERENCE

vagina

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //vəˈdʒaɪnə// UK //vədʒˈaɪnɐ// vagi·na Informal Vulgar

n. the muscular tube in a woman's body that connects the outer sex organs to the uterus. It is the path through which babies are born and where blood leaves the body during a period.

n. the muscular, elastic canal extending from the vulva to the cervix of the uterus in female mammals. It serves as the organ of copulation and the birth canal during parturition.


SIMPLE

The doctor explained how the vagina changes during pregnancy.

CONTEXTUAL

Medical students must learn the precise anatomical structures of the vagina to understand reproductive health and childbirth.

COMPLEX

The acidic environment within the vagina is maintained by beneficial bacteria, which serve as a primary defense mechanism against various pathogenic infections.

Origin

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wāgīnā Latin vāgīnalbor. English vagina Learned borrowing from Latin vāgīna (“a sheath, scabbard; a covering, sheath, holder”).

Usage

In medical contexts, it refers specifically to the internal canal, though it is frequently used in general speech to refer to the female genitals as a whole.

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