| a person who obtains sexual gratification by observing others surreptitiously, esp. a man who looks through windows at night. |
| peep·ing Tom (pē'pĭng) n. A person who gets pleasure, especially sexual pleasure, from secretly watching others; a voyeur. [After the legendary Peeping Tom of Coventry, England, who was the only person to see the naked Lady Godiva.] Word History: In an age when we can speak of peeping Tom cameras or electronic peeping Toms we have indeed come far from the time of the legendary peeping Tom. Godgifu (fl. 1040-1080), Lady Godiva to us, pledged her legendary ride as a means of persuading her husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia, to lower taxes. In the original version of the story she was observed by all the townspeople as she disrobed, but in a much later version of the story a tailor or butcher named Tom was the only person to observe her as she rode by, everyone else having shuttered their windows as they had been asked. Peeping Tom, first recorded around 1796, has become a term for a voyeur, not at all a pleasant fate for this legendary fellow. As W.H. Auden has said, "Peeping Toms/are never praised, like novelists or bird watchers,/for their keenness of observation." |
One who derives pleasure, usually sexual, from secretly spying on others. (See voyeurism.)
Note: The original “peeping Tom” was a legendary resident of the town where Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets. According to the story, Tom defied official orders by looking out his window as she went by and was struck blind.
peeping Tom peep·ing Tom (pē'pĭng)
n.
A person who gets pleasure, especially sexual pleasure, from secretly watching others; a voyeur.
peeping Tom
A person who secretly watches others, especially for sexual gratification; a voyeur. For example, The police caught a peeping Tom right outside their house. This expression, first recorded in 1796, alludes to the legend of the tailor Tom, the only person to watch the naked Lady Godiva as she rode by and who was struck blind for this sin.
peeping tom
person who derives sexual satisfaction from watching from hiding places as others disrobe or engage in sexual acts. The term derives from the legendary Peeping Tom, a prying tailor who was struck blind (in some accounts, struck dead) for opening his window and watching Lady Godiva as she rode naked through Coventry to demonstrate against heavy taxes on the town. Though Godiva's ride supposedly took place in the 11th century and was recorded as early as the 13th, the legend of Peeping Tom was not added to the story until about the 17th century. See also voyeurism.
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