anal

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈeɪ.nəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from New Latin analis (“of the anus”),^[2][3] from Latin anus (see anus).^[2][3] Merriam-Webster forms it in English from anus and -al.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Situated near the anus: 1769.^[5][2][4] Of the anus itself it is from 1836.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Anal eroticism (1913) follows a German term of Freud's from 1908.^[5] In psychoanalysis the second stage of Freud's scheme of development is the anal stage (1930),^[5] and anal sadistic is from 1920.^[5] Anal-retentive is attested by 1957 in Etymonline, 1958 in the OED,^[2][5] and anal sex from 1966.^[2]

Timeline

• 1769 – near the anus.^[5][2]
• 1836 – of the anus.^[5]
• 1913 – anal eroticism.^[5]
• 1930 – the anal stage.^[5]
• 1957 – anal-retentive.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or near the anus.
2. (psychoanalysis) Relating to the second stage of psychosexual development, when interest centres on the anal region.
3. (psychoanalysis) Showing adult traits such as excessive orderliness and stubbornness, thought to come from fixation at this stage.

Word family

• anally
• anal-expulsive
• anality
• anal-retentive
• anilingus
• postanal
• preanal
• subanal

Related words

• anus

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press