kegel

See also: Kegel

English

Etymology

After Arnold Kegel. The surname is of German origin; see Kegel (“skittle, bowling pin”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

kegel (plural kegels)

1. The pubococcygeal muscles.
   • 1999 July 19, Hendrik Hertzberg, “The Parent Trap”, in The New Yorker:

     The parenting magazines are on a higher moral plane than the how-to-get-a-guy magazines, just as a man going home to his wife and children (or a woman breast-feeding a baby) is on a higher moral plane than a man out trolling for nookie (or a woman flexing her Kegels in preparation for a date).

2. A contraction of the pubococcygeal muscles, performed for the purpose of strengthening them.
   • 2014 July 14, Roni Caryn Rabin, “Pelvic Exercises for Men, Too”, in The New York Times:

     Done for a few minutes a day, Kegels can ease childbirth, help with recovery, prevent incontinence — even improve your sex life.

   • 2020 August 7, Cardi B, “WAP”‎^[1] ft. Megan Thee Stallion, Atlantic Records:

     Hop on top, I wanna ride / I do a kegel while it's inside

Derived terms

• kegel balls

Verb

kegel (third-person singular simple present kegels, present participle (US) kegeling or (UK) kegelling, simple past and past participle (US) kegeled or (UK) kegelled)

1. (intransitive) To clench one's perineum and pelvic muscles.
   • 2022 October 2, Cara Schacter, “My Year of Stress and Constipation”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     To future appointments, I wear a skirt and thigh-highs so that I can Kegel with my outfit intact.

Anagrams

• Gleek, gleek

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch kēgel, from Old Dutch *kegil, from Proto-West Germanic *kagil.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkeː.ɣəl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ke‧gel
• Rhymes: -eːɣəl

Noun

kegel m (plural kegels, diminutive kegeltje n)

1. cone
2. bowling pin
3. (usually in the diminutive) cone cell (in the retina)

Derived terms

• ijskegel
• kegelen
• kegelrob

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *kegil, from Proto-West Germanic *kagil.

Noun

kēgel or kêgel? m

1. cone, wedge
2. bowling pin

Inflection

Strong masculine noun

	singular	plural
nominative	kegel	kegele
accusative	kegel	kegele
genitive	kegels	kegele
dative	kegele	kegelen

Derived terms

• kēgelen

Descendants

• Dutch: kegel
  • Afrikaans: keël, kegel
• Limburgish: kieëgel (suggests a form with ê)
• → Middle English: keyle, kayle
  • English: kayles
  • Yola: keillès, keilès, keiless

Further reading

• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “kegel”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN