Today, there are a large number of terms that modern people do not understand due to the fact that they are outdated or replaced by other concepts. For example, many people do not know what the word "sodomite" means. It really is already outdated and out of speech, but those who are interested in history or accidentally hear this archaism will be interested to know its etymology. Let's look at what this word means, and what theories of its occurrence exist.
What is sodomy?
According to the explanatory dictionary, sodomite is a person subject to sodomy. Sodomy, in turn, means a serious deviation from the norm in sexual relations. Often, by this concept they mean sexual perversions. In other words, sodomite is an individual who, deviating from generally accepted norms, enters into sexual contact with a person of his own gender (woman with woman, man with man). Thus, most often we are talking about a man of homosexual orientation.
However, sodomite is not only a homosexual, but also every individual who enjoys manifestations of sexuality that do not help conception (oral and anal sex, masturbation, etc.). That is, sodomy means everything that differs from ordinary vaginal sex.
It is worth considering that the word we are considering is biblical in color. This is due to the history of the emergence of a hyperonym.
Christian version of the term
According to the biblical narrative, previously there were two cities - Sodom and Gomorrah. Their inhabitants were sinners who often entered into homosexual relationships with each other. Once, the righteous Lot, who lived in Sodom, had two wanderers for the night. Residents of the city wanted to have sex with them, for which God was angry with them. Lot, who was far from sin, tried to beg for mercy from the Almighty, but he destroyed two cities along with their inhabitants.
In this biblical narrative, for the first time, a concept such as “Sodom sin,” which means entering into a homosexual relationship. The names of the cities - Gomorrah and Sodom - became a household name in Christian society. According to the Bible, sodomite is not only a homosexual, but also a person who is prone to debauchery and lust. Thus, the Old Testament says that the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were sexually immoral. Thus, the synonym for the word "sodomite" is the term "sexual pervert."
Catholic version of the term
In the period from the sixth to the eleventh century, in the central and western parts of Europe, the word "sodomy" denoted any prohibited sexual intercourse, including premarital or extramarital sex. Also, people who preferred oral and anal sex with representatives of both their own and the opposite sex were ranked as sodomites. It is worth noting that the Catholic Church recognized only sexual contact between a man and a woman who are legally married. Moreover, sexual intercourse between them should have occurred not for pleasure, but solely for the purpose of conceiving a child.
Later, and more precisely in the eleventh century, during the Inquisition, the Catholic Church began to call homosexual relations between a man and a man sodomy. Since then, only the representatives of the strong half of humanity began to fall under the mentioned hyperonym, and Sodom sin began to be perceived as a sexual relationship between a man and a man.
Sodomy in the Russian Empire
Data and sources indicate that in the Russian Empire in pre-Petrine times, there was also such a thing as sodomy. Russian people identified this term exclusively with the homosexual contact of two men. Researchers say that sodomites were most often wealthy merchants who even hired boys for their own sexual gratification.
A synonym for the word "sodomite" in the Russian Empire was the concept of "peasants." It first appeared in Old Russian law to denote this type of deviant sexual behavior. It should be said that in Russia homosexual relations were not considered sinful.
Sodomy in the modern world
Today, this term has already ceased to be actively used, as it was supplanted by more understandable words and phrases, such as “homosexuality”, “non-traditional sexual orientation” and others. Now the hyperonym we are considering has become a book concept that has turned into archaism. If earlier it was actively used in church literature and jurisprudence, today many people don’t even know what sodomy is. The meaning of the term we have considered above, so that the reader may well consider himself at least a little knowledgeable in this matter.
It is worth noting that in the modern world by sodomy is meant primarily anal sex and sexual intercourse with animals (bestiality). Thus, sodomite is not necessarily a person who gravitates toward sex with members of the same sex, it can also be an individual who is interested in anal sex.