There has been immense debate about the origin of the word condom. One suggestion was that there was a Dr. (or Colonel) Condom (or Condum, Condon, or Conton) - a physician at the court of Charles II - who invented the device. The word first appeared in print in a poem written in 1706 - "A Scots Answer to a British Vision," which refers to contemporary instruments for combating venereal disease (Sirenge and Condum/Come both in Request).