Etymology Map
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Sadism

4 stages from French to English.

Today it means pleasure, especially sexual, from inflicting pain or humiliation on others

Where does the word "sadism" come from? It comes from French Sade, passing through French and German before entering English (1888).

1
Stage 1 of 4
Sade
French · 1785
"a family name"
the Marquis de Sade, lord of the château of Lacoste in Provence, wrote The 120 Days of Sodom in the Bastille in 1785 and published Justine in 1791
2
Stage 2 of 4
sadisme
French · 1830s
"sadism"
recorded in French dictionaries from the 1830s for cruelty that gives pleasure
3
Stage 3 of 4
Sadismus
German · 1886
"sexual cruelty"
the psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing made it a clinical term in Psychopathia Sexualis (1886) and his later writings
4
Stage 4 of 4
sadism
English · 1888
"pleasure from inflicting pain"
entered English through translations of Krafft-Ebing
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Read the full story

Sadism’s story begins in French: Sade meant “a family name.” The Marquis de Sade, lord of the château of Lacoste in Provence, wrote The 120 Days of Sodom in the Bastille in 1785 and published Justine in 1791. Within French, it grew into sadisme by 1830s. Recorded in French dictionaries from the 1830s for cruelty that gives pleasure. From there it passed into German as Sadismus by 1886. The psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing made it a clinical term in Psychopathia Sexualis (1886) and his later writings. It reached English by 1888 as sadism. Entered English through translations of Krafft-Ebing. Today, sadism means pleasure, especially sexual, from inflicting pain or humiliation on others.