orchido-, orchid-, orchio-, orchi-, -orchium

(Greek > Latin: testes; testicles)

The terms testis (singular) and testes (plural) refer to the male reproductive gland (or glands), the source of spermatozoa and of the androgens, usually paired in an external scrotum in man and certain other mammals. The word testicle is a diminutive of testis.

orchesiphlation
An operation on or the removal of the testes to sterilize.
orchic
Pertaining to or derived from the testicles.
orchichorea (s) (noun), orchichoreas (pl)
Involuntary rising and falling movements of the testes: Orchichorea involves a twitching or jerking movement of a male reproductive gland.
orchid (s) (noun), orchids (pl)
1. Any plant of the orchis family, often remarkable for brilliancy of color or grotesqueness (bizarre, outlandish) of form, in some cases resembling various insects and other animals. Orchids are often epiphytes that grow upon trees without taking nourishment from them. They usually have their stems swollen into fleshy pseudobulbs that store water and mineral nutrients available from rain, dew, and dust; many exotic species are now cultivated for their beauty.
2. Any member of the family Orchidaceae; plants that have complex, specialized irregular flowers usually with only one or two stamens.
3. A well defined family of monocotyledons comprising 15 000 to 30 000 species in 600 to 800 genera of strongly mycotrophic terrestrial or often epiphytic herbs; cosmopolitan in distribution but most abundant and diverse in tropical forests; characterized by numerous, often bizarre specializations for pollination by particular species of insects; usually green and commonly crassulacean acid metabolism; producing from a thousand to several millions of tiny seeds with a minute undifferentiated embryo that requires association with an appropriate fungus for successful germination

Crassulacean acid metabolism refers to the fixation of carbon dioxide in the dark into organic acids which are used in photosynthesis by day.

Orchids were once called "ballocks stones" (ballock’s-grass is an old name for various sorts of wild orchids), "dogstones", and similar names because their tubers (roots) resemble human testicles. The name "orchid" derives from orchis, the Greek for “testicle”. The Latin form orchis was taken by botanists of the 16th and 17th centuries as the basis for the plant’s scientific name.

Orchid came into English about 1845, borrowed from New Latin Orchideae, Orchidaceae, the plant’s family name, and was assigned by Linnaeus in 1751, from orchid-, erroneously assumed as the stem of Latin orchis.

The resemblance of orchid roots to “testicles” more than 2 000 years ago led to the mistaken belief that orchids possess aphrodisiac properties. The identity of the true male orchis of the Greeks and Romans has never been established. Mystery still surrounds this magic plant whose root was dissolved in goat’s milk by the ancients. One drink of this solution, wrote one incredulous historian, and a man could perform sex as many as 70 consecutive times.

Orchis is supposed to have been the main ingredient of satyrion, the love food of those lecherous satyrs of Greek mythology. The orchid, the Turkish orchis morio, the truffle, the mandrake, and several other plants have been credited with being the male orchis (aphrodisiac) of the ancients, but the true identity of satyrion is probably lost for all time; unless you count ™Viagra as its replacement.


—Information for this section is based on data from the following sources:

The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
by Robert K. Barnhart, published by H. W. Wilson Company, 1988.

Dictionary of Word Origins
by John Ayto, Arcade Publishing, New York, 1990.

Encyclopedia Britannica,
published by Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.; Volume 16, 1968.

Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins
by Robert Hendrickson, published by Facts On File, Inc., 1997.
orchidacean (s) (noun), orchidaceans (pl)
1. One who cultivates orchids; an orchidist: Grace thought that orchids were wonderful plants and easy to care for, so she became an orchideacean and devoted herself to growing many kinds of orchids.
2. A plant of the family Orchidaceae: Lisa found 20 different types of orchidaceans in a botany book she was reading and chose the Cattleya and the Dendrobium that she wanted to buy.
orchidaceous (adjective), more orchidaceous, most orchidaceous
1. Resembling an orchid flower in some way, especially in being showy: In preparing the wedding, the couple wished for orchidaceous themes at the reception party following the ceremony.
2. Relating to the family of orchids: The friends noticed some insects infesting their orchidaceous plants in their greenhouse.
orchidatrophy, orchidatrophia
Atrophy or shrinking of the testis.
orchidean, orchideous
Belonging to the Orchideae, orchidaceous; pertaining to or characteristic of an orchid (flower).
orchidectomy
Orchiectomy.
orchidic
Relating to the testis.
orchidist
A cultivator of orchids (flowers); an orchid fancier.
orchiditis, orchitis, orchitic
Inflammation of the testis.
orchidoepididymectomy
The operation of excising the testis and epididymis; the elongated cordlike structure along the posterior border of the testis, whose elongated coiled duct provides for storage, transit, and maturation of spermatozoa and is continuous with the ductus deferens. It consists of a head (caput epididymis), body (corpus epididymis), and tail (cauda epididymis).
orchidology
The study of orchids (flowers).
orchidometer
1. A caliper device used to measure the size of the testes.
2. A set of sized models of testes for comparison of testicular development.

Related testi- words.

Quiz You may take a self-scoring quiz over some of the words in this section by just clicking on Orchid Quiz to see how much you know or can learn.