Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Unnatural carnal union of males with males, especially boys.

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

  • noun Sexual activity between two males; sodomy; the “crime against nature“; -- used especially when one partner is a boy.

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

  • noun Erotic love, sexually expressed or chaste, between a man and an adolescent boy.
  • noun archaic Anal intercourse in general, usually between a man and an adolescent boy.

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

  • noun sexual relations between a man and a boy (usually anal intercourse with the boy as a passive partner)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek παιδεραστία (love of boys), from παιδεραστής (pederast), from παῖς (genitive παιδός) (child, son, boy) + ἐραστής (lover), from ἐράσθαι (to lοve), from ἐράω (to love passionately, to long for).

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Examples

  • The origin of pederasty is lost in the night of ages; but its historique has been carefully traced by many writers, especially

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • "It's called pederasty - adults sodomizing teenage boys."

    NPR Topics: News 2010

  • We owe the word 'pederasty' for this activity to Greek pais for boy and erastês for lover.

    Men and Boys Bowersock, G.W. 2009

  • In broad terms, what is important to grasp here is not why the Greeks had a fondness for boys but why they had a "pederasty"; that is, why they elaborated a courtship practice, a moral reflection, and — as we shall see — a philosophical asceticism around that fondness.

    Foucault and the Hedgerow History of Sexuality 2006

  • James Rado and Gerome Ragni, who collaborated on the book and lyrics, didn't know the first thing about how to write a musical, and their idea of scintillating wit was to rhyme "pederasty" with "Why do these words sound so nasty?"

    Six Flags Over Woodstock 2008

  • Where Stoker’s take was a souless monster with brutal charm, Rice’s was the dandy, the sexually ambiguous fop with fangs that dabbled in pederasty.

    Perfect Creature and the State of the Vampire Mythos...and Some Penis Jokes wendigomountain 2008

  • First of all, I realise that buying something with "pederasty" in the title might be a hard sell unless you're a student of classics, but stay with me.

    Queer Sighted Tim Macavoy 2010

  • More than 270 objets d'art, some dating back as far as the 6th century BC, portray the loves and lusts of the gods - as well murkier erotic practices such as pederasty and sex with animals.

    The Guardian World News 2009

  • 'pederasty' is a priestly recruitment/entrapment tool.

    Planet Atheism 2009

  • 'pederasty' is a priestly recruitment/entrapment tool.

    ScienceBlogs Channel : Life Science 2009

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