The word "clitoris" comes from the Greek word meaning "side of a hill".

The plural forms are clitorises in English and clitorides in Latin. In slang, it is sometimes abbreviated as clit, which originated in the 1950s. The OED suggests that the pronunciation is also used in the UK, and gives the likely etymology as coming from the Greek, kleitoris, perhaps derived from the verb, kleiein, to shut. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the etymology of this diminutive is uncertain. Possible etymological candidates are a Greek word meaning "key", "latch", "hook"; a Greek verb meaning "to touch or titillate lasciviously", "to tickle" (the clitoris is called in German slang der Kitzler, "the tickler"), although this verb is more likely derived from "clitoris"; and a Greek word meaning "side of a hill", from the same root as "climax".