cunnilingus vs cunnilinctus

Question

I'm interested in the morphology of these two words. How are they structured and does their structure affect their meaning at all?

Answer 1

Cunnilingus is an actual classical Latin word, used several times by Martial and once in the Priapea. It is formed from cunnus (the vulva, but it is an obscene word), and the verb lingere (to lick), and it means "someone who licks the vulva," or if you want a translation that is more idiomatic English and mirrors the level of speech, a "pussy licker." While interpreted by lexicographers as a masculine noun, it could in theory also be an adjective ("licking the vulva").

The way it is formed is that a second-declension masculine noun was formed from the present stem of the verb. The noun got Latin's usual 'i' binding vowel, that should not be interpreted as a normal noun form. This method of forming words referring to a person or thing doing something -- the result being a first/second-declension adjective or a first or second declension noun -- is not so unusual, compare for example:

• lucifugus, -a, -um (lux + fugere): light-shunning
• lucifuga, -ae, m: a light-shunner, someone who thrives at night
• lucipetus, -a, -um (lux + petere): light-seeking
• aquifuga, -ae, c (aqua + fugere): someone who fears water, a sufferer of hydrophobia
• lucifer, -a, -um (lux + ferre): light-bringing; as a noun Lucifer: the morning star, i.e., the planet Venus

It seems to me there is a tendency that these words describe a person or thing performing the action habitually or characteristically -- not necessarily right at this moment. Otherwise we would not need a compositum, we would use the present participle. Many of these words are rare or hapax legomena (words that are attested only once in the known literature/inscriptions).

Note: This is the Latin meaning; it is not the meaning of the word when used in English. When "cunnilingus" is used in English, it is refers to the sexual practice of licking the vulva. It is also not obscene, but rather a medical/scientific term. This usage is incorrect from a Latin point of view, but well established and supported by the dictionaries (in fact, I'd say it is the only meaning understood by most English speakers.)

Cunnilinctus is a word I did not know before I came across this question. It is unknown to all Latin dictionaries I consulted. It is very likely completely unattested in all periods of Latin.

What it is supposed to be is not hard to guess: a fourth-declension masculine noun formed from the supine stem of the verb lingere (i.e., linctum), and referring to the act of licking a vulva, not the actor. That is at least my guess, because that is a very common way Latin forms verbal nouns, and many well-known words are of this kind, e.g. status (from stare), exitus (from exire), situs (from sinere), etc.

Why this word was created, and by whom, I do not know, but I did notice on Google Books that it exists not only in English, but also in German, and that it is, among others, used in texts dealing with Roman sexual mores and quoting Latin literature, i.e., by authors who should know what they're doing. I assume the reason for creating this word was to avoid using cunnilingus incorrectly, which some authors, however established it may be, might feel they should avoid. This makes particular sense in works dealing with Latin literature and inscriptions.