8 Dictionary Words That Sound Inappropriate but Aren’t

According to the English Oxford Living Dictionaries, there are some strange words out there. More specifically, I found that there are strange words that sound like naughty words but actually aren't naughty at all. For entertainment's sake, here are eight words that sound totally inappropriate but aren't inappropriate at all:

1) Donkeyman
Donkeyman sounds like it would have a dirty connotation to it, but in reality, it's just a term for a man that works in a ship's engine room. Nothing really dirty about that, unless the ship's engine room itself is dirty.

2) Furuncle
While furuncle sounds a bit conspicuous it just means a boil or skin abscesses. What I don't understand is why we have the word furuncle when boil is a much easier word to say and spell.

3) Hinky
For whatever reason, hinky reminds me of hanky and hanky reminds me of 'panky'. See where I'm going with this? However, hinky doesn't mean anything like that at all. Hinky simply means dishonest or suspect.

4) Omphalos
Omphalos is a weird and fun word to say. The meaning is simply the center or hub of something.

5) Petcock
Petcock is a word that you feel like you shouldn't be saying in public but there's really nothing bad about it at all. A petcock is a valve in a steam engine used for drainage or for reducing pressure. That's it. So go ahead and say petcock all you want too, as long as you're referring to a valve in a steam engine and nothing else.

6) Peterman
Peterman is a giggle worthy word. Peterman also tends to be a sirname. However, the official definition of peterman is a person who cracks into and robs safes. Way less funny now that I know it essentially just means thief.

7) Probang
Probang sounds like a word that would be used to indicate the support of sexual experiences or something ridiculous of the sort. In reality, it is just a strip of flexible material with a sponge at the end, 'used to remove a foreign body from the throat or to apply medication to it.' Weird!

8) Spitchcock
This last one has me really intrigued and horrified truthfully. Mainly because I didn't know that this was something so prevalent that it needed a word to describe it. A spitchcock is an eel that's been split and then grilled or fried for consumption. To me, this word's meaning is quite horrfying to visualize.

BONUS WORD: Here is where I flip the script and give you a word that sounds normal, but actually, has a pretty weird and gross meaning. The seemingly normal word 'merkin' actually refers to an artificial covering of hair for the pubic area. So basically, I view it as a toupee for your crotch. I don't know why this even exists, but if it exists it must have a name, right? I would have gone with 'groupee', personally. You know, a cross between groin and toupee. Okay, I'll quit now.