Scytel: A New Old English Word for Penis

What is it about?

This article offers a reassessment of a dictionary entry for Old English 'scytel'. I show that, in the context of an Old English medical text called the Medicina de quadrupedibus, 'scytel' does not mean 'shit' as the dictionary has defined it, but rather, 'penis'.

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Why is it important?

The Old English medical texts offer critical insights into Anglo-Saxon anatomical vocabulary, particularly for the lexical domains of sex and reproduction. Words belonging to these lexical domains, including the word 'scytel', are in need of further study, as they were often incompletely or incorrectly defined in lexical aids written in the Victorian era. Reassessment of the lexicon for sex and reproduction is vital to continuing studies on the history of sexuality and the history of medicine.