The etymology of testimony is testicles—i.e., to swear on them—which is a lovely reminder of how gendered our legal system continues to be. Meanwhile, the word seminal is another frustratingly gendered word, whereas hysterical, a descriptor ascribed to upset women throughout time, can be traced back to the womb, which was thought to wander and create mental illness. The definition of woman itself is fraught, as its etymology is “wiffmon,” or “wife of man.”
