{"id":7633,"date":"2014-07-23T15:52:11","date_gmt":"2014-07-23T07:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/?p=7633"},"modified":"2026-03-06T06:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T05:22:10","slug":"fascinating-history-word-dildo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/fascinating-history-word-dildo\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fascinating History Of The Word Dildo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dildo is a funny word, isn\u2019t it? Just say it out loud to yourself; \u201cdildo\u201d. See? Funny.<\/p>\n<p>Now say it again, but in a Scottish accent. In public? Say it again, but this time do it really loud.<\/p>\n<p>Hopefully it\u2019s still funny. However if you\u2019re here for the history of the word dildo, and judging by the fact you\u2019ve clicked on a title promising just that, how about we all hop into the LELO Wayback Machine and find out together?<\/p>\n<p>First, there are 2 main theories dating back to the times when people spoke Old English \u2013 an era when \u2018old\u2019 was spelled with an \u2018e\u2019 at the end, thus making it \u2018Olde English\u2019. As with most English words Olde and otherwise, \u2018dildo\u2019 is thought to be a bastardization of terms taken from other languages.<\/p>\n<p>One would be <strong><em>Diletto<\/em><\/strong>, taken from the Italian which means \u2018a woman\u2019s delight\u2019. This seems a very likely place where the word we know and love today got its start, however other contenders include the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Dill-doll<\/em><\/strong>: an Old English term taken from the old Norse word \u2018dilla\u2019, a verb meaning \u2018to soothe\u2019. Literally then a dill-doll would be a soothing doll, or in this case an effigy of a member.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Dil doul<\/em><\/strong>: a phrase that referred to a man\u2019s penis as used in the 17<sup>th<\/sup> century ballad \u201cThe Maids Complaint for want of a Dil Doul\u201d, which was likely a toe-tapper of a tune at the time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Speaking of music, <em>The Century Dictionary and Encyclopedia<\/em>, which in its published year of 1897 was touted as the \u2018work of universal reference in all departments of knowledge\u2019 (making it definitive), dildo was at the time used as a place holder in music like a \u2018la la la di da\u2019 might.<\/p>\n<h2>The Choice of Valentine&#8217;s<\/h2>\n<p>Finally, one origin that is backed up by a number of sources places the etymology as beginning in the late 1500s, making an appearance in the Thomas Nash poem <em>The Choice of Valentine\u2019s, Nashe\u2019s Dildo, or The Merrie Ballad of Nashe his Dildo<\/em>. In this case, according to Wikipedia, the word dildo referred to \u2018a phallus-shaped peg used to lock an oar in position on a dory (small boat). It would be inserted into a hole on the side of the boat, and is very similar in shape to the modern toy.\u2019<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7641\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7641\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7641 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/220px-DildoNewfoundland.jpg\" alt=\"dildo town\" width=\"220\" height=\"293\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7641\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dildo,_Newfoundland_and_Labrador\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Further proof of the word\u2019s seafaring beginnings may also be lent credence by the fact that there exists a town in the maritime province of Canada called Dildo, with Dildo Island located nearby \u2013 however if you ask any of the locals, they\u2019ll likely tell you the name comes from the small boat peg and not a source of delight for women since the dawn of man!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Check this out:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/whats-the-difference-between-a-dildo-and-a-vibrator\/\">What\u2019s the Difference Between a Dildo and a Vibrator?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Enjoy 15% off <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LELO.com<\/a> with code <span style=\"color: #800080;\">VOLONTE15<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dildo is a funny word, isn\u2019t it? Just say it out loud to yourself; \u201cdildo\u201d. See? Funny. Now say it again, but in a Scottish accent. In public? Say it again, but this time do it really loud. Hopefully it\u2019s still funny. However if you\u2019re here for the history of the word dildo, and judging by the fact you\u2019ve clicked on a title promising just that, how about we all hop into the LELO Wayback Machine and find out together? [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":7635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[607,551,579],"coauthors":[947],"class_list":["post-7633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sex-tips-advice","tag-dildo","tag-humour","tag-sex"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Discover the History &amp; Etymology of the Word \u2018Dildo\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Of dill-dolls and dilettos: discover the fascinating, mysterious and surprising history of the word \u2018dildo\u2019.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lelo.com\/blog\/fascinating-history-word-dildo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Discover the History &amp; 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