buttock

Meaning

1. Each of the two large fleshy halves of the posterior part of the body between the base of the back, the perineum and the top of the legs.
2. The convexity of a ship behind, under the stern.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbʌtək/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English buttok, probably from Old English buttuc (“end; end piece”; also, “short piece of land”). Attested with its current anatomical meaning since 1300. A diminutive form of what is presumably the Old English precursor of butt + -ock (diminutive suffix).