Mind & EmotionGreek → English
Paraphilia
/ˌpærəˈfɪliə/noun
A persistent sexual interest directed at objects, situations or targets outside the usual range.
The Greek roots
παρά
pará
beside, beyond
φιλία
philía
love, affection
Literally: “love off to one side”
The story of the word
The word was assembled in German around 1900 and carried into clinical English largely through the writings of Wilhelm Stekel. Its career was made in 1980, when the third edition of the DSM used paraphilia to replace perversion, swapping a word of moral judgement for one that only claims the interest sits beside the norm. That is all παρά asserts, which was the point of choosing it.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → German coinage → English
- First recorded
- 20th century
Same family
philanthropyparanoiabibliophile
In a sentence
The chapter distinguishes a paraphilia from a disorder, which requires distress or harm.