Sadism
/ˈseɪdɪzəm/noun
The practice or enjoyment of inflicting pain, humiliation, or suffering on another person, especially for sexual gratification.
Did you know?The term was coined from the name of the Marquis de Sade, whose novels portrayed sexual cruelty and violence, and was popularized in medical writing by Richard von Krafft-Ebing in the late nineteenth century.
Etymological Timeline
1740–1814
French
Donatien Alphonse François de Sade
“The full name of the French aristocrat and writer whose works later inspired the term.”
Late 18th Century
French
Sade
“The surname of the Marquis de Sade, whose fictional and philosophical writings explored domination, torture, and sexual cruelty.”
1880s
French
sadisme
“A newly formed medical and psychological term based on de Sade’s name.”
1886
German
Sadismus
“Richard von Krafft-Ebing’s clinical term for deriving sexual pleasure from causing pain or humiliation.”
Late 19th Century
English
sadism
“The English form adopted for the practice or tendency of deriving gratification from another’s suffering.”
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