testosterone
- 1A steroid hormone, made mainly in the testes and also in the ovaries and adrenal cortex, that drives the development of male secondary sex characteristics.
The clinic measured his testosterone before starting any treatment.
Athletes who misuse testosterone risk serious long-term health problems.
Note
The name is built like a lab label: test(is) plus -o- plus -sterone, the ending for steroid hormones. It literally means 'steroid hormone of the testis.' The name slightly misleads. As Bill Bryson's The Body: A Guide for Occupants (2019) notes, mammalian testes hold almost none, because it is sent into the body as quickly as it is made. In everyday use it is usually something measured, as in testosterone levels.
- 2Stereotypically manly behavior, often aggressive or foolishly reckless in nature.
The boardroom was thick with testosterone as the rivals traded threats.
Half the stunts in the film are pure testosterone with no thought for safety.
Similarmachismo, bravado, swagger, aggression
Note
Here the hormone stands for the behavior people blame it on: swagger, aggression, needless risk. It usually works as a mass noun of atmosphere, as in a place filled with testosterone, or a choice of intelligence over testosterone. The tone is critical or wry. Louise Casey's Baroness Casey Review (2023) uses it to describe a misogynistic environment. Its force comes straight from the hormone itself.
Practice
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Origin
Formed from "test(is)" combined with "-o-" and "-sterone," meaning a steroid hormone.