Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Arousing or intensifying sexual desire.
  • noun Something, such as a drug or food, having such an effect.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Exciting venereal desire; increasing the appetite for sexual pleasures; hence, erotic; sensual.
  • noun Any drug or preparation which excites sexual desire.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Exciting venereal desire; stimulating the desire for sexual gratification.
  • noun That which (as a drug, or some kinds of food) stimulate sexual desire.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Arousing or intensifying sexual desire
  • noun A food or drug having such an effect

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective exciting sexual desire
  • noun a drug or other agent that stimulates sexual desire

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek aphrodīsiakos, from aphrodīsia, sexual pleasures, from Aphrodītē, Aphrodite.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ἀφροδισιακός (aphrodisiakos, "venereal"), from Άφροδίσιος (Aphrodisios, "pertaining to Aphrodite").

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Examples

  • It isn't clear how available the aphrodisiac is elsewhere in the U.S., although some similar products have been seized from suspected drug traffickers in other East Coast cities, authorities said.

    New York City Issues Firm Warning Over Fatal Toad-Venom Aphrodisiac - The Consumerist 2008

  • Hmm ... well, you know how much cold-blooded murder turns on good Christian chicks, man ... it's like a frickin 'aphrodisiac to' em.

    Your Right Hand Thief 2008

  • The Egyptians especially delight in aphrodisiac literature treating, as the Turks say, de la partie au-dessous de la taille; and from fifteen hundred to two thousand copies of a new work, usually lithographed in cheap form, readily sell off.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • For starters, the word aphrodisiac comes from Aphrodite, the goddess of love (and Venus 'Greek counterpart).

    mental_floss Blog the mag 2010

  • "Aphrodite, who is the Greek goddess of love -- that's where the word aphrodisiac comes from, rose from the sea on an oyster," registered dietician Lauren Slayton said.

    Traffic - WCBSTV.com 2010

  • Primarily, revolt, seduction, mischief: then a beautiful girl (or boy), and lastly a certain aphrodisiac perfume extracted from mimosa-flowers (Pilgrimage i.,

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • Addiction to durians (Durio zibethinus Murray) may be due to these compounds, and the so-called aphrodisiac effect is, I suspect, via a mild irritant action on vascular and mucous tissue.

    Chapter 19 1979

  • Rebranded in an attempt to lose their 'aphrodisiac' image.

    Utter Pollacks: Fish to be Renamed Dungeekin 2009

  • Rebranded in an attempt to lose their 'aphrodisiac' image.

    Archive 2009-04-01 Dungeekin 2009

  • "This isn't some kind of aphrodisiac that we can put in the water and have suddenly sexually interested women in our population," Sand said.

    FDA considers endorsement of drug that some call a Viagra for women 2010

Comments

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  • In the Aztec culture, avocados were considered so sexually powerful, virgins were restricted from contact with them.

    May 7, 2008

  • Anything at all to do with chained_pears?

    May 7, 2008

  • I don't blame the Aztecs for being prudent. Apparently, the word avocado comes from two words, one meaning lawyer and the other meaning testicle -- no virgin should be subjected to such an unholy combination!

    May 7, 2008