At one point in the movie "Legally Blonde", the token ultra-feminist character argues that the university has a huge bias against women, and that she's lobbying to have the term 'semester' changed to 'ovester'. This of course led me to wonder where the word 'semester' came from.
semester
–noun
1. (in many educational institutions) a division constituting half of the regular academic year, lasting typically from 15 to 18 weeks.
2. (in German universities) a session, lasting about six months and including periods of recess.
1820–30; < German < Latin sēmē ( n ) stris of six months duration < *sex-mēnstris, equivalent to sex six + mēns ( is ) month + -tris adj.suffix (perhaps representing an earlier *mens ( i ) -teros )
So what she was seeing (I assume) was a link to the word "semen", a decidedly masculine trait, when in fact the word is more closely related to "menstrual", which is obviously associated with women.
For completeness' sake, the origin of 'semen':
semen
–noun
the viscid, whitish fluid produced in the male reproductive organs, containing spermatozoa.
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin sēmen seed; akin to serere to sow.
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