nympholepsy en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈnɪmfəˌlɛpsi/
Etymology
From nympho- + -lepsy, after Ancient Greek νυμφόληπτος (numphólēptos, “frenzied by the nymphs”, adjective).
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) A frenzied state of (usually erotic) emotion, especially concerning something or someone unattainable.
If young persons of both sexes were brought together in the honest practical relations of organized labor, we should see no more of these fond nympholepsies
1852, Mary Edgewood Lazarus, Love Vs. Marriage: Part 1, page 292:
-
(countable, uncountable) Nymphophilia.
The science of nympholepsy is a precise science. Actual contact would do it in one second flat. An interspace of a millimeter would do it in ten.
1955, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter XXIX, in Lolita, volume I, page 172:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| nympholepsies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |