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Definition of pornography - 7 dictionary results

por⋅nog⋅ra⋅phy

[pawr-nog-ruh-fee]
–noun
obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit.

Origin:
1840–50; < Gk pornográph(os) writing about harlots (porno-, comb. form of pórnē harlot + -graphos -graph ) + -y 3


por⋅no⋅graph⋅ic [pawr-nuh-graf-ik] , adjective
por⋅no⋅graph⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
por·nog·ra·phy   (pôr-nŏg'rə-fē)   
n.  
  1. Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.
  2. The presentation or production of this material.
  3. Lurid or sensational material: "Recent novels about the Holocaust have kept Hitler well offstage [so as] to avoid the ... pornography of the era" (Morris Dickstein).

[French pornographie, from pornographe, pornographer, from Late Greek pornographos, writing about prostitutes : pornē, prostitute; see per-5 in Indo-European roots + graphein, to write; see -graphy.]
por·nog'ra·pher n., por'no·graph'ic (pôr'nə-grāf'ĭk) adj., por'no·graph'i·cal·ly adv.

Pornography

Por*nog"ra*phy\, n. [Gr. ? a harlot + -graphy.]

1. Licentious painting or literature; especially, the painting anciently employed to decorate the walls of rooms devoted to bacchanalian orgies.

2. (Med.) A treatise on prostitutes, or prostitution.
Language Translation for : pornography
Spanish: pornografía,
German: die Pornographie,
Japanese: ポルノ

pornography

Books, photographs, magazines, art, or music designed to excite sexual impulses and considered by public authorities or public opinion as in violation of accepted standards of sexual morality. American courts have not yet settled on a satisfactory definition of what constitutes pornographic material. (See obscenity.)


pornography 
1857, "description of prostitutes," from Fr. pornographie, from Gk. pornographos "(one) writing of prostitutes," from porne "prostitute," originally "bought, purchased" (with an original notion, probably of "female slave sold for prostitution;" related to pernanai "to sell," from PIE root per- "to traffic in, to sell," cf. L. pretium "price") + graphein "to write." Originally used of classical art and writing; application to modern examples began 1880s. Main modern meaning "salacious writing or pictures" represents a slight shift from the etymology, though classical depictions of prostitution usually had this quality. Pornographer is earliest form of the word, attested from 1850. Pornocracy (1860) is "the dominating influence of harlots," used specifically of the government of Rome during the first half of the 10th century by Theodora and her daughters.

Main Entry: por·nog·ra·phy
Pronunciation: por-'nä-gr&-fE
Function: noun
: material that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement
NOTE: Pornographic material is protected expression unless it is determined to be obscene. However, child pornography is illegal under federal and state laws prohibiting the depiction of minors in sexual acts.por·nog·ra·pher /por-'nä-gr&-f&r/ nounpor·no·graph·ic /"por-n&-'gra-fik/ adjectivepor·no·graph·i·cal·ly adverb

pornography application
Still and moving images, usually of women, in varying states of nudity, posing or performing erotic acts with men, women, animals, machines, or other props. Some say it degrades women, some say it corrupts young boys (who down-load it from the World-Wide Web or exchange it on floppy disks). Most of it is in the form of JPEG images. Many web sites offer porn of all sorts, almost always for a subscription. It is said that these are a driving force in the evolution of new technology and techniques for the web. Advertisments for them certainly constitute a significant proportion of all spam. There are even pornographic computer games, an early example being Mac Playmate.
Beware - many institutions, particularly universities, have strict rules against their computers and networks being used to transfer or store such things, and you might get corrupted.
(2002-03-08)

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