Pervs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Engaging in sexually improper or immoral behavior, often with an unhealthy fixation on sexual acts or topics
2. Exhibiting an obsessive interest in sexual matters, typically considered taboo or inappropriate
3. Displaying tendencies or behaviors associated with sexual deviance or an excessive focus on sexuality

Etymology: "Pervs" is simply the plural of "perv," which is a clipping of "pervert," the word for a person whose sexual habits are considered unacceptable. Clipping means chopping off the end of a longer word to make a shorter, more casual one, a process that gives us "exam" from "examination" and "fridge" from "refrigerator." Here the clipped form keeps the perverse-sounding first syllable and drops the rest, which is why it sounds so informal. The plural form follows the ordinary English pattern of adding an "s" to a count noun, so "pervs" refers to more than one such person. The word belongs to a family of terms built on "pervert," which itself comes from the Latin "pervertere," meaning to turn aside or overturn. The original sense was about turning something from its proper course, and only later did it narrow to sexual deviance.

Synonyms: perverts, voyeurs, creeps, lechers, peepers