jouissance

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Archived revision by WingerBot (talk | contribs) as of 02:08, 28 October 2019.
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French jouissance, from jouir (to enjoy).

Noun

jouissance (uncountable)

  1. (obsolete) Enjoyment, delight, pleasure.
    • Template:RQ:Flr Mntgn Essays, Folio Society 2006, vol. 1 p. 184:
      friendship is enjoyed according as it is desired, it is neither bred, nor nourished, nor increaseth but in jovissance, as being spirituall, and the minde being refined by use and custome.

Usage notes

  • The sexual connotation (i.e. orgasm) is lacking in the English word "enjoyment", and therefore the word is left untranslated in English editions of the works of the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan.

French

Etymology

From jouir.

Pronunciation

Noun

jouissance f (plural jouissances)

  1. (law) use, possession, enjoyment
  2. enjoyment, deep pleasure
  3. sexual pleasure, sensual delight; orgasm, climax
    • 1785, Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, Les 120 journées de Sodome, ou l'École du libertinage
      Il est taillé comme une femme et en a tous les goûts; privé par la petitesse de sa consistance de leur donner du plaisir, il l'a imité, et se fait foutre à tout instant du jour. Il aime assez la jouissance de la bouche; c'est la seule qui puisse lui donner des plaisirs comme agent.
      He is built like a woman and has all their tastes; limited by the smallness of his ability to give them pleasure, he has imitated them, and gets fucked at any time of day. He quite enjoys pleasuring by the mouth; it is the only way he is able to give pleasure as the active agent.

Further reading


Middle French

Noun

jouissance f (plural jouissances)

  1. Alternative form of iouyssance