Pizzle

Pizzle

Pizzle is an old English word for penis, derived from Low German "pesel" or Flemish Dutch "pezel", diminutive of "pees" 'sinew'. [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=pizzle&searchmode=none] The word is used today to signify the penis of an animal, particularly that of a bull.

Original uses

Also known as a bully stick, it is represented in heraldry, where the adjective pizzled indicates that part of an animate charge's anatomy, especially if coloured differently.

It is also known, at least since 1523, especially in the combination "bull pizzle", to denote a flogging instrument made from a bull's penis - compare bullwhip - and the modern Dutch word "bullepees" 'bull sinew' which fits a bull pizzle, a term specifying the material is from a bull.

Modern uses

Bull pizzles are almost exclusively used/produced today as chewing treats for dogs.Fact|date=February 2007 The pizzles of bulls are cleaned, stretched, twisted and then dried at a very high heat. The result is a very hard, 80-100 cm long brown stick, which is then sawed into pieces appropriate for the size of the dog, usually 10-20 cm (this process also makes its anatomical origin rather unrecognizable).


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pizzle — Piz zle, n. [Cf. Prov. G. pissel, pesel, peisel, peserich, D. pees a tendon or spring.] The penis; so called in some animals, as the bull. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pizzle — penis of a bull used as a flogging instrument, 1520s, from Low Ger. pesel or Flem. pezel, dim. of root of Du. pees sinew, from O.L.G. root *pisa …   Etymology dictionary

  • pizzle — [piz′əl] n. [prob. < LowG pesel or Fl pezel, dim. akin to Du pees, a tendon, sinew] the penis of an animal, esp. that of a bull as formerly made into a whip …   English World dictionary

  • pizzle — noun Etymology: probably from Dutch dialect pezel; akin to Low German pesel pizzle Date: 1523 1. the penis of an animal 2. a whip made of a bull s pizzle …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • pizzle — /piz euhl/, n. 1. the penis of an animal, esp. a bull. 2. a whip made from a bull s pizzle. [1515 25; prob. < dial. D pezel or LG pesel, equiv. to MD, MLG pes(e) (D pees) tendon, sinew + el dim. suffix; see LE] * * * …   Universalium

  • pizzle — noun a) The penis of an animal. Although, if in the lion the position of the pizzle be proper, and that the natural situation, it will be hard to make out their retrocopulation, or their coupling and pissing backward, according to the… …   Wiktionary

  • pizzle — piz•zle [[t]ˈpɪz əl[/t]] n. 1) cvb zool. the penis of an animal, esp. a bull 2) cvb a whip made from a bull s pizzle • Etymology: 1515–25; prob. < D pezel or LG pēsel …   From formal English to slang

  • pizzle — piz·zle (pizґəl) popular term used in veterinary medicine for the penis of an animal …   Medical dictionary

  • pìzzlè — 1) beccare 2) guadagnarsi qualche cosettina …   Dizionario Materano

  • pizzle — noun dialect or archaic the penis of an animal, especially a bull. Origin C15: from Low Ger. pēsel or Flemish pezel …   English new terms dictionary

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