pederasty

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   sexual relations between an adult man and an adolescent boy

   The modern study discusses pederasty in the context of consent, power, and child protection.

2. 2
   noun

   in historical writing, an institutionalized erotic relationship between an adult man and an adolescent boy, especially in accounts of some ancient Greek societies

   The historian discusses pederasty as one feature of a particular ancient social system.

Borrowed from Greek paiderastia, formed from pais (genitive paidos), 'child or boy,' and erastes, 'lover.' The term entered scholarly English for a relationship described in some ancient societies and later acquired broader sexual uses.

Topics