GLOSSARY
Here follows a list of words relevant to discussion of Greek love that will be encountered on this website and are either rare or merit discussion of their precise meaning.
active, a. In a Greek love context, to be the performing player, typically the man, in sexual intercourse, though, as an exception, in modern usage the irrumator in oral sex is sometimes considered the active partner.
amrad, امرَد Arabic (also بی مو Persian, अमरद Hindi) n. Boy or beardless youth, with connotations of being sexually attractive (since the plainer word for boy was ghulam and still being naturally beardless was the critical consideration in a youth being thought attactive to men).
amradparast, اَمْرَد پَرَست Persian (also अमरद-परस्त Hindi) n. Pederast (literally a "beardless-worshipper").
amradparastii, اَمْرَدْ پَرَسْتی Persian (also अमरद-परस्ती Hindi) n. Pederasty (literally "beardless-worship").
androphile, a. Sexually attracted to men. Generally used only of men and roughly equivalent to the modern colloquial gay. Hence ~ic, a. [Derived from the Greek ἀνδρος andros, a man, + ϕιλία (philia), love in the sense of generally warm feelings.]
bachah-bāzī, بچه بازی, Persian n. Literally boy-play, implicitly sexually liaising with boys, an ubiquitous custom in Afghanistan and, less recently, other parts of Central Asia.
ballets bleus, French n. Literally "blue ballets". Secret gatherings of boys and men organised for sex. [20th century]
bardash, n. A boy in a sexual relationship with a man, typically imagined taking the passive role in it. [Derived from the Italian bardassa, qv.]
bardassa, Italian n. A boy prostitute. Not transvestite, but nevertheless, due to boy prostitution being better known in early modern Italy than elsewhere in Europe, derivatives of this word, bardaje and berdache, were used by the Spanish and French respectively to describe the transvestites they encountered in the New World. [Possibly derived from bardaj, a 7th-century Arabic word for captive]
boy-love, n. The romantic or sexual love of boys.
boy-lover, n. A person who falls in love with boys. [In use since at least 1735.]
boysexual, n. & a. 1. A man who sexually prefers boys. 2. Sexually attracted to boys. [Coined by the writer Casimir Dukahz in his Asbestos Diary (1966) to denote the pederastic equivalent of other –sexual words. He had an extraordinary talent for wordplay and boysexual is more versatile than “pederast” and “pederastic”, its nearest equivalents.]
bugger, v.t. & n. 1. To perform an act of buggery, qv. 2. One who performs acts of buggery, qv.
buggery, n. The Christian sin of pedicating a person or copulating with an animal, made a statutory crime in England in 1533. [Derived from the French bougre, from the mediaeval Latin Bulgarus, an 11th-century heretic from Bulgaria, supposed capable of any crime.]
bum, v.t. To pedicate. Derived from ~, n., meaning the buttocks, through which pedication takes place.
catamite, n. A boy kept by a man for sex. The term is considered pejorative because the implication is that the boy is in a state of dependency, such as being the man’s servant, and the man, having no reciprocal obligation to the boy beyond the need to maintain him, may be using him purely for sex. [In use since at least 1601 and derived from the Latin catamitus (the colloquial equivalent of concubinus, a Roman male concubine), itself derived from the Greek Γανυμήδης (Ganymedes), the name of the boy loved and kept as his cup-bearer by Zeus, the King of the Gods.]
cinaedus, Latin n. A man who is a sexual invert or, more specifically, takes the passive role in pedication. [Derived from the Greek κίναιδος (kinaidos).]
delicatus, Latin n. Delicate one. Used in an amorous context as an abbreviation for puer delicatus, qv.
dry, a. In the context of a boy’s orgasm, one in which he has not reached the pubertal stage of being able to ejaculate. Derived from the general sense of dry as meaning without liquid.
duàn xiù zhī pī, 斷袖之癖, Chinese n. Literally "the passion of the cut sleeve", meaning the passion shown by a Chinese emperor of the 1st century BC who cut off his sleeve rather than awaken the loved youth who had fallen asleep on it.
ephebe, n. A youth in his mid to late teens. Derived from the Greek ἔϕηβος (ephebos), a fully-grown, but still unbearded youth, in Athenian law aged more specifically 18 or 19.
ephebophile, n. A person sexually most attracted to older adolescents aged about 15 to 19, cf. ephebophilia.
ephebophilia, n. Sexual attraction to older adolescents aged about 15 to 19. Used mostly in psychiatric literature. [Late 19th century. Derived from ephebe, qv. + the Greek ϕιλία (philia), love in the sense of generally warm feelings.]
erastes, ἐραστής, Greek n. A man or older boy who loves a boy. The love is implicitly inspired by eros (sexual love), but could remain chaste.
eromenos, ἐρώμενος, Greek n. A boy loved by a man or older boy. The love is implicitly inspired by eros (sexual love), but could remain chaste.
exoletus, Latin n. A male prostitute or catamite who, whether still adolescent or fully mature, had passed his prime.
fellate, v.t. To perform the act of fellatio, qv. [In English use since the late 19th century and derived from the Latin fellāt-, the past participial stem of fellāre.]
fellatio, n. Oral stimulation of the male sexual organ, typically to orgasm. [Taken straight from the Latin word in the late 19th century.]
fellator, n. A person who performs fellatio. [Taken straight from the Latin in the late 19th century.]
frig, v.t. To wank or masturbate. [The oldest known English word for this, traceable back to 1598 and derived from the Old English word meaning to move briskly.]
fuck, v.t. & n. 1. In the context of Greek love, to pedicate. 2. The act of ~ing. [Its first known use in the Greek love sense was in 1809.]
fundament, n. The buttocks or, much more often, the orifice between them. [Most commonly used in the 14th-19th centuries. Derived from the Old French fondement, from the Latin fundamentum, a foundation.]
gamahuche, v.t. & n. 1. To fellate or perform an act of cunnilingus. 2. The act of ~ing. [Least rare in 19th century erotic literature, the Oxford English Dictionary traces it back to 1788 in the sense of cunnilingus, but gives no example earlier than 1866 for its use in the sense of fellatio.]
Ganymede, n. A boy, typically beautiful, who is erotically adored by a man. In known English use since the 16th century and derived from the Greek Γανυμήδης (Ganymedes), the name of the boy loved and kept as his cup-bearer by Zeus, the King of the Gods.
gholām-bachah, Afghan n. Boy servants and protégés, typically beautiful and often sexually associated with their masters in Afghaistan. [Derived from the Arabic ghulām غلام meaning "servant" and the Persian bachah بچه, meaning "boy".]
Greek love, n. The love between a boy, typically adolescent, and a man or older boy: though sexually-inspired, it could be chaste and was typically romantic. [Derived from being a form of love particularly admired and commonly practised by the ancient Greeks.]
hebephile, n. A person sexually most attracted to those in Tanner stages 2-3 of pubescence, cf. hebephilia.
hebephilia, n. Sexual attraction to those in Tanner stages 2-3 of pubescence, typically now meaning aged 10-14, but formerly a little older. Used mostly in psychiatric literature. [In use by 1955. Derived from the Greek Ἥβη (Hebe), the goddess of youth, + ϕιλία (philia), love in the sense of generally warm feelings.]
intercrural, a. Between the thighs; in its usual Greek love context of ~ intercourse, sex in which the man thrusts his cock between the boy’s thighs.
interfemoral, a. Intercrural or between the thighs; in its usual Greek love context of ~ interfemoral, sex in which the man thrusts his cock between the boy’s thighs.
irrumate, v.t. To insert the male sexual organ in a person’s mouth. [Derived from the Latin irrumare.]
irrumation, n. The insertion of the male sexual organ in a person’s mouth. [Derived from the Latin irrumatio.]
irrumator, n. A male who inserts his cock in a person’s mouth. [Taken straight from the Latin in the late 19th century.]
kinaidos, κίναιδος Greek n. A man who is a sexual invert, or more specifically, takes the passive role in pedication.
köçek, Turkish n. A boy dancer in female attire intended to have erotic appeal to men and often sexually available for them. [Derived from the Persian word kuchak کوچک meaning "small".]
liwāt, لواط, Arabic n. The sin of pedicating males, which, according to the Moslem interpretation of Genesis 19, caused Allāh to destroy the ancient city of Sodom. A word with the same meaning and spelling is pronounced lavât in Persian. [A shortening of the Arabic expression of "the act of the people of Lot", who was an inhabitant of Sodom.]
luán tóng, 娈童, Chinese n. A kept boy or catamite [derived from its literal meaning of "beautiful boy"].
meirakion, μειράκιον, Greek n. An adolescent boy, aged between 14 and 20 (these extremes of age are exemplified by Herodian, History of the Empire V 3 iii and Plutarch, Life of Brutus 27 ii; seven years over 14 and under 21 also fits the conventional Greek division of life into periods of such length: see The Greek Anthology XIV 126 for a riddle confirming this association).
meirakiskos, μειρακίσκος, Greek n. A little adolescent boy. [As a diminutive of meirakion, qv., presumably denoted a boy in the latter's earlier age range, though its comparative rarity leaves this unverifiable].
nanshoku, 男色, Japanese n. "Literally "male colours" and meaning Greek love as widely practised with a strong ethical structure in pre-modern Japan. [Derived from the Japanese reading of the same characters in Chinese].
nenja, 念者, Japanese n. The adult male lover of a wakashu, qv.
paed-, n. For all English words beginning thus, see the equivalents beginning ped-. These words derive from the Greek παιδ- (paid-), to which the stem paed- is a step closer than ped-, and were more commonly used until the 20th century.
paid-, n. For all English words beginning thus, see the equivalents beginning ped-. These words derive from the Greek παιδ- (paid-), so the paid- stem has sometimes been preferred by scholars as an exact transliteration.
paidika, παιδικὰ, Greek n. The boy in a Greek love affair. Unlike the eromenos, who might not have accepted his suitor, there is some implication that the affair has been sexually realised, and a catamite might be referred to as one.
passive, a. In a Greek love context, to be the receiving player, typically the boy, in sexual intercourse, though, as an exception, in modern usage the fellator in oral sex is sometimes considered the passive partner.
pederast, n. A man who sexually prefers boys, typically adolescent. Hence ~ic, a. [In English use since the 17th century and derived from the Greek παιδεραστής (paiderastes), composed of παῖς, παιδος (pais, paidos), a boy, + ἐραστής (erastes), a lover in the sexual sense.]
pederasty, n. Sex between men and boys, typically adolescent, or men's interest in such sex. [In English use since the 17th century and derived from the Greek παιδεραστία (paiderastia), composed of παῖς, παιδος (pais, paidos), a boy, + εραστία (erastia), sexually-inspired love.]
pedicate, v.t. To penetrate a person's fundament with the male sexual organ. A term preferred here to the clumsy and clinical, modern “have anal intercourse with” and, in most contexts, to the coarse and less precise, vernacular “fuck”. [In English use since at least 1623 and derived from the Latin pedicare, thought to be derived from the Greek paidika, qv., boys having been those most commonly pedicated.]
pedication, n. The act of pedicating. [In English use since 1887 and derived through the French pedication from the Latin pedication.]
pedicator, n. A male who pedicates someone. [Taken straight from the Latin by 1661.]
pedophile, n. A person who sexually prefers pre-pubescent children; in vulgar usage, a person sexually interested in anyone younger than the prevailing laws or social conventions allow; cf. pedophilia.
pedophilia, n. Sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children, typically now meaning aged under 10½ for boys, but formerly a little older. Hence ~ic, a. [Coined in 1896, but rare outside psychiatric literature until the early 1970s, the definition is in contradiction to the word’s derivation from the rare Greek word παιδόϕιλος (paidophilos), a lover of boys who, as a matter of known practise, were always at least 12. While it is true that the pais element of this word could mean a girl in some contexts, it never did in this combination, and in any case there is no trace of the idea of sexual attraction to girls as distinct from women in Greek literature].
peg-house, n. A house of prostitution specialising in boys. [Derived from the pegs used to prepare them for pedication.]
petit-jésus, French n. A boy prostitute who took the passive sexual role with men (as opposed to a jésus, the adult equivalent). [19th-century slang]
podex, n. The fundament, qv, or arsehole. [Taken straight from the Latin by 1601]
puer delicatus, Latin n. A pretty boy member of a wealthy household, typically a slave kept by his owner for pleasure and amusement rather than for work, often described as naked except for jewelry and akin to a treasured catamite.
shudō, 衆道, Japanese n. An abbreviation of wakashudō, qv.
sodomise, v.t. To perform sodomy, qv.
sodomite, n. One who performs an act of sodomy, qv.
sodomy, n. The male-homosexual, biblical crime which, according to the Christian interpretation of Genesis 19, caused God to destroy the ancient city of Sodom. By the 18th century, in English law this had come to be interpreted narrowly as pedication involving emission (without which it was merely attempted ~), but in earlier times and in its equivalent use in other European languages, it was sometimes more broadly defined, including, for example, oral sex.
spend, v.i. To ejaculate. [In use by 1662 and the most commonly used word for this in the 18th-19th century, reflecting the new idea that ejaculation was a waste and exhaustion of male vigour justifiable only in heterosex.]
Tanner stage, n. A stage of sexual development during puberty. [Derived from James Tanner, the British paediatrician who in 1948 first described five such stages.]
Uranian, n. & a. A male homosexual in a perceived Greek tradition. Mostly used of and by pederastic writers between 1889 and 1930. [Derived, like the slightly older German word Urning, from the Greek association of pederasty with the goddess Aphrodite sprung from Οὐρανός (Ouranos), the heavens.]
xiàng gong, 相公, Chinese n. A young and beautiful male performer, sometimes also a prostitute.
wakashu, 若衆, Japanese n. A boy aged between 11 or 12 and 18 or 19, and recognisable as such from hair-shaving ceremonies performed at those ages, only boys of this age range being eligible to have adult lovers in pre-modern Japan.
wakashudō, 若衆道, Japanese n. Literally “the way of loving boys” and meaning Greek love as widely practised with a strong ethical structure in pre-modern Japan.
wank, v. & n. 1. To stimulate manually the male sexual organ, typically to orgasm. 2. The act of so doing. [The Oxford English Dictionary knows of no trace of it before 1948, but it appeared repeatedly as a v. in the anonymously authored Memoirs of a Voluptuary (1905), recording schoolboy conversations from the 1890s]
yard, n. The male sexual organ. [The most common English word for it in the 14th to early 19th centuries. Derived from the mediaeval meaning of yard as a stick.]
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