The Hebrew Academy's Battle Against the Clitoris

Описание: The Hebrew Language Academy fought against a word for 70 years and lost. I'm Elon Gilad; I write about Hebrew and Jewish history.
In the 1920s, Hebrew linguists faced an anatomical challenge: creating a proper Hebrew word for clitoris. Dr. Aaron Meir Mazya, an ophthalmologist who chaired the Hebrew Language Committee, suggested "dagdegan," tickler, based on the German slang word "Kitzler" (meaning "that which tickles"). Dr. Alexander Malachi proposed "batar" from Arabic, while the renowned poet Shaul Tchernichovsky offered "hamdan" meaning lustful. Some scholars suggested "hevyonit," related to the verb for being hidden, cleverly echoing the Greek word clitoris which is related a verb meaning to be shiethed.
But in 1939, the Hebrew Language Committee rejected all these proposals. Their reasoning was surprisingly direct: the Hebrew suggestions were "too crude for educational purposes, especially in literature aimed at young people." They recommended sticking with the scientific term "clitoris" instead.
Despite official opposition, "dagdegan" grew increasingly popular in spoken Hebrew. Yet it remained too provocative for literature until three bold poets broke the taboo: Harold Schimmel in 1968, David Avidan in 1973, and Yona Wallach in 1982. Wallach's use of the word in a poem about tfilin caused a public scandal, with a deputy minister of education calling her "a lustful beast."
In 1986, the Academy of the Hebrew Language held another vote on the matter. Professor Amatzya Porat argued against "dagdegan," claiming women found it offensive, and the Academy voted 7-4 to reject it again in favor of "clitoris." But language lives in the streets, not in committee rooms. By then, "dagdegan" was firmly established in everyday Hebrew.
The Academy's resistance finally ended in 2009, when "dagdegan" was quietly approved as part of a massive biology terminology update. After seven decades of official rejection, the word the Academy couldn't stop finally gained its stamp of approval.
Now you know.