I must admit, when this one arrived in my e-mailbox I almost flagged it as SPAM!
That subject line is so common (misspellings of Viagra).

Hey--I hadn't thought of that, but now I (think I) know why that med. is so named:
(Bolding added.) [From Latin virga (rod, streak).]
Thus virile, too, I guess; man, I wish I had taken Latin!

It's not too late, Jackie. You can learn the roots on your own, very easily.

the weatherbots on tv here use it all the time.

Thus virile, too, I guess

There might be a connection between Latin vir, viri, 'man' (and via 'way' and vis, vis, 'strength, force, vigor, power', from PIE *wei-, vi:- 'to take the straight route; to be powerful' pp.1123f., and Latin virga, virgae, 'twig; rod, switch', but Pokorny in his IEW gives two separate roots: *weis-g- 'to spin, turn, twist' (augmented with g), p.1134. The use of virga as a euphemism for the obscene mentula 'membrum virile' does exist, perhaps by folk etymology; cf. virgo (possibly from the same (second root above) 'virgin').

Well, that detail makes me feel much more virile (from a linguistic perspective)!

I don't think virga is related to virile. In fact, virga is related to virgin.

virile: 1490, from O.Fr. viril, from L. virilis "of a man, manly," from vir "a man, a hero," from PIE *uiHro "freeman" (cf. Skt. virah, Avestan vira-, Lith. vyras, O.Ir. fer, Welsh gwr, Goth. wair, O.E. wer "man"). Virile member for "penis" is recorded from 1541. Virility "period of manhood" is attested from 1586; meaning "manly strength" is recorded from 1603.


virgin: c.1200, "unmarried or chaste woman noted for religious piety and having a position of reverence in the Church," from O.Fr. virgine, from L. virginem (nom. virgo) "maiden, unwedded girl or woman," also an adj., "fresh, unused," probably related to virga "young shoot." For sense evolution, cf. Gk. talis "a marriageable girl," cognate with L. talea "rod, stick, bar." Meaning "young woman in a state of inviolate chastity" is recorded from c.1310. Also applied since c.1330 to a chaste man. Meaning "naive or inexperienced person" is attested from 1953. The adj. is recorded from 1560 in the lit. sense; fig. sense of "pure, untainted" is attested from c.1300. Virginity is attested from c.1303, from O.Fr. virginite, from L. virginitatem (nom. virginitas), from virgo.
Distraught pretty girl: "I've lost my virginity!"
Benny Hill: "Do you still have the box it came in?" [sic]

So I think virga gets its rain sense from a comparison between an early stem or shoot from a plant, and the meager rainfall that evaporates before reaching the ground.

Thanks, Alex--it didn't occur to me to LTU!

You can learn the roots on your own, very easily On-line, you mean?