Sodomizing

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Engaging in anal intercourse with another person, often without consent, as a form of sexual assault or abuse
2. Performing the act of anal sex on a person, a practice historically classed as sodomy under many legal codes
3. Committing anal penetration upon someone, an act that is a crime in some jurisdictions and is considered sexual abuse when forced

Etymology: The name of the city of Sodom, from the Bible's account of its destruction, is the root here, and the suffix "-ize" does the rest. That suffix has a long pedigree: it began in ancient Greek as "-izein", was carried into Late Latin as "-izare", passed through Old French, and reached Middle English as "-isen". By the time it reached English it was a flexible tool for turning nouns into verbs meaning "to make or treat in the manner of," so "sodomize" follows the same pattern as words like "civilize" or "criticize". "Sodomizing" is simply the -ing form of that verb. Its meaning rests on the link to the Biblical city, whose sins were the source of the sexual sense the word carries. The word's history is therefore a compound of a place-name and a productive English suffix, with the Biblical story supplying the meaning.