Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

vagina dentata

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.79 in modern English

Syllables: vagi-na -den-ta-ta
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

5

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The mythical toothed vagina; often related to castration anxiety.

Example Sentences

"This notion also associates the vampire more directly with the primal uncanny. The long quotation that Moretti uses from Marie Bonaparte's writings on Edgar Allen^([sic]) Poe includes reference to the mythical vagina dentata, the ‘strange’ notion that the vagina ‘is furnished with teeth, and thus a source of danger in being able to bite and castrate’."
"My relationship towards tulips is inherently Lynchian. I think they are disgusting. Just imagine. Aren't these some kind of, how do you call it, vagina dentata, dental vaginas threatening to swallow you?"
"Perhaps one of the most recognizable and acknowledged contemporary images of vagina dentata appears in Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). […] Indeed, Gieger^([sic]) himself wanted the creature to be an embodiment of the fear of rape, making it a perfect match for the film."

Etymology

First attested 1908, from Latin vagina + dentata (“toothed”); popularized chiefly by Sigmund Freud.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: vagina

Inflected Forms

vaginae dentatae (plural) vagina dentatas (plural)

Questions

What does vagina dentata mean?: The mythical toothed vagina; often related to castration anxiety.
Where does vagina dentata come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce vagina dentata

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “vagina dentata”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “vagina dentata”.
Repeat and practice — Say “vagina dentata” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.