An organ that produces reproductive cells: testicles in males or ovaries in females.
From Greek gonad-, from gon- meaning 'generation' or 'seed,' plus -ad indicating an organ. The root gon- appears in words like 'genetic' and 'gone' (in older usage meaning 'begotten').
The word gonad is actually neutral and scientific, yet many people find it awkward—it's fascinating how the same biological structures got different names ('testicle' and 'ovary') that sound less clinical than 'male gonad' and 'female gonad!'
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