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by arnsholt
1829 days ago
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To add on this, musculus is not only an entirely regular diminutive derivation of mouse (mus + -culus) it's even the same pattern as is used for testicle: it's a small witness (testis, see also latinate English words like testify) of manhood. |
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testis (n.) (plural testes), 1704, from Latin testis "testicle," usually regarded as a special application of testis "witness" (see testament), presumably because it "bears witness to male virility" [Barnhart]. Stories that trace the use of the Latin word to some supposed swearing-in ceremony are modern and groundless.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/testis