Peter

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -iːtÉ™(r)

US, 1902, presumably from shared initial pe-.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Full definition of peter

Noun

1. (hypocoristic slang) The penis.

1812, US miners’ slang, Unknown.

Various speculative etymologies have been suggested.

Phrase Finder|peter-out|peter out

ami: origin of “peter out”

Take Our Word For It #117

A Hog On Ice & Other Curious Expressions, Charles Funk, 1948.

One suggestion is that it comes from peter being an abbreviation of saltpeter, the key ingredient in gunpowder – when a mine was exhausted, it was “petered”. Other derivations are from St. Peter (from sense of “rock”), or French péter ("to fart").

Verb

1. (only used in the phrase peter out) To dwindle; to trail off; to diminish to nothing

Usage notes

Originally used independently, today only used in the derived phrase peter out.