Skoptophilia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Pleasure derived from observing others, especially in sexual or intimate situations, without taking part oneself
2. The enjoyment of looking at other people during private or sexual acts, often as a form of voyeuristic gratification
3. A psychological inclination to take sexual delight in seeing others unaware of being watched, typically considered a paraphilia

Etymology: Skoptophilia is a late nineteenth-century coinage built entirely from Greek parts: "skopein," to look at or watch, and "philia," love or fondness for something. It was formed in the medical and psychological literature of the period, when writers were naming sexual and behavioural patterns with classical compounds, so the word was invented in modern scientific language rather than used by ancient Greeks. Its sense is narrow. In psychiatry it describes a pleasure in looking at others, usually in sexual or intimate situations, and it was used as a clinical label, often in the context of voyeurism. Its near relative "scopophilia" comes from the same roots and is the more common form in modern psychology, where it is usually discussed in connection with Freud's writings on the pleasures of looking.

Synonyms: scoptophilia, voyeurism