homosexualityn.
/ˌhəʊmə(ʊ)ˌsɛkʃʊˈalᵻti/, /ˌhəʊmə(ʊ)ˌsɛksjʊˈalᵻti/, /ˌhɒmə(ʊ)ˌsɛkʃʊˈalᵻti/, /ˌhɒmə(ʊ)ˌsɛksjʊˈalᵻti/, U.S. /ˌhoʊməˌsɛkʃəˈwælədi/, /ˌhoʊmoʊˌsɛkʃəˈwælədi/ Originally Psychology.
1.
a. The state or quality of being sexually or romantically attracted to people of one's own sex; homosexual character, nature, or identity.More typically used with reference to same-sex attraction between men than with reference to that between women.
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the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun]
sexual inversion1883
inversion1891
homosexuality1892
uranism1893
Uranianism1909
homoeroticism1915
homoerotism1916
queerness1925
homoism1927
homophiliaa1942
gayness1954
queerdom1961
poofdom1972
gaydom1978
1892 C. G. Chaddock tr. R. von Krafft-Ebing Psychopathia Sexualis iii. 185 (heading) Great diminution or complete absence of sexual feeling for the opposite sex, with substitution of sexual feeling and instinct for the same sex. (Homo-sexuality, or contrary sexual instinct [Ger. homosexuale s. conträre Empfindung]).
1902 J. M. Baldwin Dict. Philos. & Psychol. II. 287/1 A special case is inversion or homosexuality.
1926 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 24 Oct. 5/4 Dr. Collins discusses guardedly..the problems of..continence, of frigidity, incompatibility, homosexuality, and promiscuity.
1993 Herald (Glasgow) 12 Mar. 6 This study..suggests that genetic factors are as important in determining lesbianism as they are in influencing male homosexuality.
2001 P. Currah in M. Blassius Sexual Identities, Queer Politics 184 Advocates of gay and lesbian rights affirm that heterosexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality are equally healthy avenues of development.
b. As a count noun: a homosexual nature or identity; a particular experience or expression of this.
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1921 Mental Hygiene (U.S. National Comm. for Mental Hygiene) 5 738 The tendency to a homosexuality somewhat above the average shown in undergraduate days.
1950 Internat. Jrnl. Psycho-anal. 30 60/1 All individuals with mother fixations..are apt to have a homosexuality which is easily distinguished in their psycho-analysis.
1972 Penthouse (U.K. ed.) 7 72/3 There is no such entity as homosexuality, no such person as the homosexual. There are many homosexualities, each reflecting different needs and motives.
2014 K. Kimport Queering Marriage ii. 38 The weddings showcased a homosexuality that was happy, diverse, and relatively mainstream—a homosexuality that was not, in other words, deviant.
2. Sexual activity or behaviour between members of the same sex; homosexual sex.
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1897 H. Ellis & J. A. Symonds Sexual Inversion iv. 101 Bourneville believes that 75 per cent. of the inmates of the Parisian venereal hospitals have practised homosexuality.
1933 Psychoanalytic Rev. 20 379 Although the boys were extensively autoerotic during this period they did not practice mutual masturbation nor engage in homosexuality with other boys.
1957 Times 5 Sept. 10/1 (headline) Proposal to relax law on homosexuality. Report urges no penalty for consenting adults.
1967 Sci. News 25 Nov. 508/3 The researchers never observed an instance of homosexuality among wild lizards—but in laboratory conditions, this was fairly frequent.
2002 Englewood (Florida) Sun 5 Nov. 1/3 In Qatar, a person can be lashed for engaging in homosexuality.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1892