1700–10; of obscure origin, but popularly supposed to have been named after an 18th-century English physician, who allegedly devised it
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
- Fall also happens to be back-to-school season for the condom industry.
- Condom use has already been boosted by government advertising campaigns.
- It's not a hotbed of technological development, although one friend brought back reports of a vibrating condom.
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condom
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condom con·dom (kŏn'dəm)
n.
A flexible sheath, usually made of thin rubber or latex, designed to cover the penis or vagina during sexual intercourse for contraceptive purposes or as a means of preventing sexually transmitted diseases.
A similar device, consisting of a loose-fitting polyurethane sheath closed at one end, that is inserted into the vagina before sexual intercourse.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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condom definition
1. The protective plastic bag that accompanies 3.5-inch microfloppy diskettes. Rarely, also used of (paper) disk envelopes. Unlike the write protect tab, the condom (when left on) not only impedes the practice of SEX but has also been shown to have a high failure rate as drive mechanisms attempt to access the disk - and can even fatally frustrate insertion.
2. The protective cladding on a light pipe.
3. "keyboard condom": A flexible, transparent plastic cover for a keyboard, designed to provide some protection against dust and programming fluid without impeding typing.
4. "elephant condom": the plastic shipping bags used inside cardboard boxes to protect hardware in transit.
[Jargon File]
(1995-03-14)
condom
contraceptive device consisting of a sheath that fits over the penis and that is intended to prevent the escape of semen into the vagina. It is made of very thin, flexible rubber or a rubberlike plastic (latex). The condom has long been used as protection against venereal infections and other sexually transmitted diseases, and by the 17th century it was utilized as a contraceptive as well. Early condoms were generally made of animal gut or fish membrane and were often inefficient. Legend is confused on the origin of the term condom-one story telling of a man named Condom devising such a contraceptive for Charles II of England. Since the 1840s most condoms have been made of vulcanized rubber or, since the 1930s, of latex. At first they were usually washable but now are generally disposable and slightly lubricated. Efficient, convenient, but still disliked for its dulling of physical sensation, the condom fails mainly because of irregular use. It is an effective form of protection against a broad range of sexually transmitted diseases. See contraception.
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