anal
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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
- Of, relating to or near the anus.
- (psychoanalysis) Relating to the second stage of psychosexual development, when interest centres on the anal region.
- (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
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ 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