← All of Himeka's Erotic Trivia
The man behind "onanism" never actually jerked off
Japan's everyday word for it, "onanie," and the English "onanism" both trace back to one man in the Bible. Funny thing is, what he actually did was something else entirely.
MaiHey, hey, Himeka-san! "Onanism" was invented way back by some guy named "Ona Nism," right? I totally know this!
Himeka...Sigh. What kind of word are you yelling first thing in the morning? And what is "Ona Nism" supposed to be? Who even is that?
MaiHuh, wrong!? Then... Onan Nism? Yeah, it's Mr. Onan Nism!
Himeka...It's infuriating how close you got. Fine, I suppose I'll teach you. The source is a man named Onan, in Genesis chapter 38 of the Old Testament.
HimekaOnan was told to father an heir with his dead brother's wife. But he hated that the offspring wouldn't count as his own, so he spilled his seed on the ground. ...In other words, what he did wasn't the solo thing at all. It was pulling out.
MaiWhaaat!? So Mr. Onan never even jerked off!! Getting stuck with nothing but the name... that's kinda sad for him!
HimekaHmph... A sensible reaction, for once. What spread the word was an 18th-century English pamphlet called "Onania." The first edition came out around 1712 to 1716, and while it scared people that self-abuse was a sin and the root of disease, it also shamelessly sold them its own remedies.
HimekaIt was a huge hit, and later the Swiss physician Tissot wrote "L'Onanisme." From there the German word "Onanie" made its way to Japan and became today's "onanie." ...Mind you, modern medicine has thrown out the whole idea that it makes you sick.
MaiWhoa~! Then starting today, I'm calling pulling out "onanism" too!
HimekaYou don't need to call it anything!! Don't make this more confusing! ...Honestly, I can't tell if you're worth teaching or not.
Himeka's summary
- The word goes back to Onan, a man in Genesis chapter 38 of the Old Testament.
- But what Onan did wasn't masturbation: it was withdrawal (the "spilled his seed on the ground" passage).
- The meaning "onanism = masturbation" was spread by the 18th-century English pamphlet "Onania" and, after it, Tissot's "L'Onanisme."
- The Japanese word "onanie" is a loanword from the German "Onanie."
Sources
General trivia only. For anything that needs a medical call, talk to a doctor. All characters are adults.
Translated from the Japanese original. Sources are unchanged.