• Erection

    Pronunciation

    • UK IPA: /ɪˈɹɛkʃən/
    • Rhymes: -É›kʃən

    Origin

    From Latin erectio, noun of action from perfect passive participle erectus, from verb erigere, from prefix e- ("out of") + regere, + action suffix -io.

    Full definition of erection

    Noun

    erection

    (countable and uncountable; plural erections)
    1. (uncountable) The act of building or putting up or together of something; construction.
    2. (countable) Anything erected or built.The Empire State Building was once the world's tallest erection.
    3. (uncountable, physiology) The physiological process by which erectile tissue, such as a penis or clitoris, becomes erect by being engorged with blood.
      • 1997, Alan Hyde, Bodies of Law, Princeton University Press (1997), ISBN 9781400822317, page 175:I think that the case also demonstrates some singular aspects of the penis as a narrator of tales, specifically the way in which the erection of a penis falls outside a man's conscious control and therefore threatens a carefully constructed master legal narrative in which bodily self-control graphically represents the self-government contemplated by a democratic legal society.
      • 2006, Lori Marso, Feminist Thinkers and the Demands of Femininity: The Lives and Work of Intellectual Women, Routledge (2006), ISBN 0415979269, unnumbered pages (quoting Simone Beauvoir):There are men who say they cannot bear to show themselves naked before women unless in a state of erection; and indeed through erection the flesh becomes activity, potency,
      • 2007, Edward J. Behrend-Martinez, Unfit for Marriage: Impotent Spouses on Trial in the Basque Region of Spain, 1650-1750, University of Nevada Press (2007), ISBN 9780874176995, page 14:A marriage was only consummated via erection, penetration, and insemination intra vas.
    4. (uncountable, physiology, of a penis or clitoris) The state or quality of being erect from engorgement with blood.
      • 2008, Robert Crooks & Karla Baur, Our Sexuality, Thomson Wadsworth (2008), ISBN 9780495095545, page 163:Older men typically require longer periods of time to achieve erection and reach orgasm.
      • 2011, Alan L. Rubin, Diabetes for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, Inc. (2008), ISBN 9780470270868, page 104:A very rare complication is priapism, where the penis maintains its erection for many hours.
    5. (countable) A penis or clitoris that is erect.He placed his newspaper on his lap to hide his erection.
      • 2002, Marguerite Crump, No B.O.!: The Head-to-Toe Book of Hygiene for Preteens, Free Spirit Publishing (2005), ISBN 9781575427003, page 85:The surge of hormones during puberty means you might have lots of erections, even when you don't want them—like during school.
      • 2006, Abha Dawesar, That Summer in Paris, Anchor Books (2007), ISBN 9780307275455, page 259:Prem was sure everyone could see his erection through his pants, everyone but Maya, who he had been careful to keep to his side all the time
      • 2007, Ken Follett, World Without End, Dutton (2007), ISBN 9780525950073, page 244:He kissed her again, this time with a long, moist kiss that gave him an erection.

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