This is the first part of an alphabetical list of names, words and terms frequently associated with body piercings and body art. This part of the dictionary covers words beginning with the letters A through C.
Ampallang - A male genital piercing placed horizontally through the head of the penis.
Anti-eyebrow - A surface piercing of the upper cheek below the eye. The placement is opposite from the eyebrow.
Anti-tragus - A piercing through the prominence on the lower posterior part of the conch of the ear, opposite the tragus.
Apadravya - A male genital piercing vertically through the head of the penis. Sometimes this term also refers to piercings vertically through the shaft of the penis.
Bridge - A horizontal piercing through the bridge of the nose, also called an “earl.”
Cheek - This can refer to surface piercings in the cheek, but most often refers to piercings which run from inside the mouth to the surface of the face.
Chin - This can be a labret piercing in that area, or a piercing in the surface of the face below the mouth.
Christina - Shortened name for “Queen Christina,” the name for a clitoral hood piercing.
Cicatize - To heal or become healed by the formation of scar tissue. this is related to body art formed by cutting or branding. Cicatrise was practiced most often in African scarification rituals where material would be rubbed into fresh cuts to encourage the formation of scar tissue. US health codes ban this practice on the grounds of danger of infection. Another way to encourage cicatization of a cut is to prematurely removed the scabs.
Cleopatra - The name given to a “reverse” Prince Albert.
Clitoris - Any piercing of the clitoral bundle. Due to potential for damage to sexual function, it is actually quite rare for a woman to actually have her clitoris pierced. A clitoral hood piercing is much safer and works pleasurably for many women.
Conch, inner or outer - A piercing thru the main shell of the ear.
Cutting - The name for making incisions or lacerations for the formation of body art, most often with a scalpel or other skin-oriented knife.
Please note: This is not necessarily a complete list of piercing names, as procedures are invented and modified by individuals and may not have evolved to be a standard term of description.
If you'd like to learn more on this topic, you might like
Modern Primitives
by V. Vale/ReSearch
ModCon: The Secret World Of Extreme Body Modification
by Shannon Larratt
