Pontifex maximus pointed out that the term existed before there were any bridges in Rome and derived the word from Old Latin "pontis" (sic) meaning a powerful or absolute master, while others derived it from "potis facere" in the sense of "able to sacrifice". The last derivation is mentioned also by Varro, who rejected it, but it was the view of Pontifex Maximus Quintus Scaevola. Others have held that the word was originally "pompifex" (leader of public processions). The word "pons" originally meant "way" and "pontifex" would thus mean "maker of roads and bridges". Another opinion is that the word is a
Latin obscenity the Latin word for the vulva ("cunnus") and the verb "to lick" ("linguere", cf. "lingua" "tongue"). These include "sinus", "indentation", and "fossa", "ditch". The modern scientific or polite words "vulva" and "vagina" both stem from Latin, but originally they had different meanings. The word "vāgīna" is the Latin word for scabbard or sword-sheath. "Vulva" (or "volva") in classical Latin generally signified the womb, especially in medical writing, and also it is also common in the Vetus Latina (pre-Jerome) version of the Bible. The meanings of "vagina" and "vulva" have changed by means of metaphor and metonymy, respectively. Other words for