sodomy · noun — any of several forms of sexual intercourse held to be unnatural, particularly bestiality or homosexuality, but also (sometimes) anal, oral, or manual sex. It carries an Arena rating of 1212, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, sodomy ranks #126 of 17,115 for Most Storied Words, #143 of 17,135 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #585 of 17,137 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #592 of 17,148 for Scariest Words.
sodomy is pronounced /ˈsɒdəmi/.
Why “sodomy” is a great word
Anal or oral copulation, especially when considered a criminal or unnatural sexual act, descends from the ecclesiastical Latin phrase *peccatum Sodomiticum* ("sin of Sodom"), after the city of Sodom in the Bible, which was associated with sexual depravity. Unlike bestiality, which precisely denotes acts between human and animal, or buggery, a legal cousin that often explicitly folds in that element, sodomy is the broader, colder category—a term of law and theology used to criminalize non-procreative intimacy. It is the whispered accusation in a courtroom, the specific charge on a warrant, the theological stain upon a lifetime of silent love, a word that conjures not flesh but judgment, transmuting intimacy into evidence.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Sodom, where the Bible, in Genesis chapters 18 and 19 and elsewhere, suggests sexual depravity.
noun
- Any of several forms of sexual intercourse held to be unnatural, particularly bestiality or homosexuality, but also (sometimes) anal, oral, or manual sex.e.g.“Mr. Shakur and his road manager, Charles Fuller, 24, were convicted Dec. 1 of first-degree sexual abuse, but they were acquitted of weapons and sodomy charges.” — 1995 February 8, George James, “Rapper Faces Prison Term For Sex Abuse”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- Anal sex.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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