Paiderast

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who engages in a sexual relationship with a boy, typically involving an adult and a minor
2. An individual involved in a historically recognized form of pederasty, often denoting an adult male's attraction to adolescent boys
3. Someone associated with the practice of adult male participation in sexual activities with younger males, as described in various cultural and historical contexts

Etymology: In Ancient Greek, "paiderastes" was a compound of "pais", meaning boy or child, and "erastes", meaning lover, so it literally named a lover of boys. "Erastes" shares its root with "eros", the source of "erotic". In some Greek city-states, relationships between an adult man and an adolescent boy were a recognised social institution with its own customs, and the term described that practice in plain terms. The English form passed through French "pédéraste", which carried the Greek compound into modern European languages before English borrowed it. "Paiderast" keeps the Greek diphthong "ai" that is simplified to "e" in the more common spelling "pederast", so the two spellings show the same word at different stages of transliteration.

Synonyms: pederast