nymphomania

noun

nym·​pho·​ma·​nia ˌnim(p)-fə-ˈmā-nē-ə How to pronounce nymphomania (audio)
-nyə
Synonyms of nymphomanianext
: excessive sexual desire by a female

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from nymphae "labia minora" (plural of Latin nympha "nymph of mythology," borrowed from Greek nýmphē "bride, young woman, nymph of mythology," [in medical writers of the early centuries A.D.] "clitoris") + -o- -o- + -mania -mania — more at nymph

Note: The originator of Latin nymphomania is unknown, though discussions of this supposed ailment, more frequently called furor uterinus (literally, "frenzy of the uterus"), are common in medical literature of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The word was certainly in circulation by 1627, when it was used by François Ranchin (1560-1641), French physician and chancellor of the University of Montpellier, in Tractatus de morbis virginum ("Treatise on the infirmities of virgins") included in his Opuscula medica (Lyon, 1627). Ranchin's analysis is under the heading "De furore uterino Virgineo, seu nymphomania" ("Concerning the uterine disturbance of virgins, or nymphomania").

First Known Use

1702, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nymphomania was in 1702

Dictionary Entries Near nymphomania

nympholepsy

nymphomania

nymphomaniac

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Nymphomania.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nymphomania. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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Medical Definition

nymphomania

noun
nym·​pho·​ma·​nia ˌnim(p)-fə-ˈmā-nē-ə, -nyə How to pronounce nymphomania (audio)
: excessive sexual desire by a female compare satyriasis

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