Meaning & use
a sodomite
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablearchaicoffensive
An old and insulting word for a man who has sex with men, used mainly in religious and historical texts.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a sodomite' or 'sodomites', but the word is almost always found in historical writing, not in everyday speech.
Patterns
- a sodomite in (a text)
- described as a sodomite
- the punishment of sodomites
The medieval chronicle describes the king's favorite as a sodomite, a charge that was then punishable by death.
In older translations of the Bible, the men of the city are called sodomites, and modern versions usually change the wording.
nouncountablearchaicoffensivelegal
In old legal language, a person charged with a sexual act that the law of that time called a crime against nature.
Grammar: Countable and used in legal records; the modern legal term is completely different, so this sense only appears when discussing old cases.
Patterns
- charged as a sodomite
- convicted as a sodomite
Under the old statute, a man convicted as a sodomite could lose all his property.
Historians have studied how courts decided who counted as a sodomite in the eighteenth century.
Word forms
| plural | sodomites |
|---|
Common combinations
- call someone a sodomite
- The pamphlet calls the bishop a sodomite and demands that he be removed.
- accused of being a sodomite
- He was accused of being a sodomite, and the rumor ruined his career.
- the sin of the sodomite
- Old sermons often warned that the sin of the sodomite would bring disaster on the whole town.
- a notorious sodomite
- In the play, the villain is a notorious sodomite who hides his life behind public piety.
Synonyms and how they differ
- homosexual
- A neutral, clinical word for a person attracted to the same sex; it carries no insult, so it is the safe choice in modern writing.
- gay man
- The ordinary, respectful everyday term; unlike 'sodomite' it is not tied to religion or to old criminal law.
- bugger
- A vulgar British slang word with a similar insulting history, but it is used in speech rather than in formal historical writing.
Word family
Commonly confused: a sodomite or sodomite vs. Sodomite?
a sodomite vs sodomite vs. Sodomite
When it refers to an inhabitant of the ancient city of Sodom, it is usually capitalized; when it is the insulting label for a person, it is written in lowercase.
Practice
Which sentence uses the word in the way a historian would, without aiming an insult at a living person?
Choose one answer.
The historical sentence reports an old legal label, which is the only neutral modern use. The other options all use the word as a direct insult aimed at a real person, which is offensive and not acceptable in careful writing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a sodomite”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.