sodomy

[ sod-uh-mee ]

noun

1. anal sex, especially between men.
2. Law. any sexual contact other than heterosexual vaginal intercourse.
3. any sexual contact that is stigmatized as unnatural or immoral.

adjective

1. Law. of or relating to any sexual contact other than heterosexual vaginal intercourse.

sodomy

/ ˈsɒdəmɪ /

noun

1. anal intercourse committed by a man with another man or a woman Compare buggery

sodomy

1. Sexual intercourse that is not the union of the genital organs of a man and a woman. The term is most frequently applied to anal intercourse between two men or to sexual relations between people and animals. ( See pederast .)

Notes

According to the Bible (see also Bible ), God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for unacceptable sexual practices, apparently including anal intercourse between men. Sodomy takes its name from the city of Sodom.

Many governments have laws against sodomy. These laws are difficult to enforce, however, and many people believe they violate personal privacy.

Other Words From

• sod·o·mit·i·cal [sod-, uh, -, mit, -i-k, uh, l], sod·o·mit·ic adjective
• sod·o·mit·i·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of sodomy¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sodomie, from Old French; Sodom, -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of sodomy¹

C13: via Old French sodomie from Latin (Vulgate) Sodoma Sodom

Example Sentences

Article 148 of the Sudanese Penal Code from 1991 said anyone who is convicted of sodomy three times “shall be punished with death, or with life imprisonment.”

From Washington Blade

ISIS, which previously controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq, publicly executed men who were accused of committing sodomy.

From Washington Blade

Fairfax County police said Nizhamuding Jureti, 57, of Arlington, was charged with one count of forcible sodomy.

From Washington Post

Virginia lawmakers in 2014 repealed their state’s sodomy ban.

From Washington Blade

Maryland earlier this year approved a bill that repealed the state’s sodomy law.

From Washington Blade

The charge: Sodomy, a serious crime in a predominantly Muslim nation.

From The Daily Beast

Sodomy, sod′om-i, n. unnatural sexuality, so called because imputed to the inhabitants of Sodom.

From Project Gutenberg

Sodomy was practiced by the nations of Cueba, 774 Careta, and other places.

From Project Gutenberg

Not that he is guilty of Sodomy nor did I ever hear the Sin so much as mentioned among them.

From Project Gutenberg

Sodomy is a crime both in the active and passive agent, unless the latter is a non-consenting party.

From Project Gutenberg

In their drunkennesse, they vse and commit Sodomy; and with their mothers and daughters they haue their pleasures and pastimes.

From Project Gutenberg