Frigidity

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition of having little or no sexual desire or responsiveness ; a state of being very cold or lacking warmth
2. A state characterized by absence or deficiency of sexual feelings ; experiencing severe cold or icy conditions
3. The quality of showing sexual unresponsiveness or indifference ; the attribute of intense cold or chill in temperature

Etymology: Frigidity began as a plain physical description. Its Latin ancestor, "frīgiditās," meant coldness, and English borrowed the idea through Middle French "frigidité" into Middle English as "frigiditee" or "frigidite," so for centuries it described cold weather, cold water, or a cold object long before it described a person. The Latin base "frīgus" (cold) is also the source of the English word "frigid," which shares the same root. The sexual sense is the one that took over. Modern usage applies the word to a lack of sexual arousal, a meaning that developed in medical and psychological writing, where the physical image of coldness was carried over to describe a absence of desire. The word thus moved from the temperature of a room to the state of a person's body and feelings, keeping the same metaphor of cold as the absence of warmth.

Synonyms: coldness, coolness, indifference

Antonyms: warmth, affection, enthusiasm