anal

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   of, near, intended for, or involving the anus

   The biologist compared the shape of the fish's anal fin.

2. 2
   adj

   in psychoanalytic theory, relating to a stage of early childhood centered on bowel control

   Freud described toilet training as central to the anal stage.

3. 3
   adj

   informal: excessively fussy, orderly, or concerned with small details

   He is very anal about the alignment of every label.

Borrowed from Latin ānālis ("relating to the anus"), from ānus + -ālis, the source of English -al. The psychoanalytic sense arose in the phrase anal stage; the informal sense "excessively fussy or orderly" is shortened from anal-retentive.

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