missionary position

[ mish-uh-ner-ee puh-zish-uhn ]

noun

1. a face-to-face sex position in which the person who is being penetrated lays flat on their back, while the person who is penetrating them lays on top of them.

missionary position

noun

1. informal.
   a position for sexual intercourse in which the man lies on top of the woman and they are face to face

Word History and Origins

Origin of missionary position¹

First recorded in 1945–50; so called because it was allegedly advocated by Christian missionaries working among Indigenous peoples

Word History and Origins

Origin of missionary position¹

C20: from the belief that missionaries advocated this as the proper position to primitive peoples among whom it was unknown