masturbate
UK[ˈmæstəbeɪt]US[ˈmæstərbeɪt]
v
To give yourself or another person sexual pleasure by touching or rubbing the sexual organs.
Etymology
The verb 'masturbate' entered English in the mid-17th century from the Latin masturbārī, a word of uncertain but ancient origin. One long-standing, though debated, theory suggests it may derive from manus (hand) and stuprare (to defile), implying a literal meaning of "defiling with the hand." Another theory posits it comes from mas (male) and turbare (to disturb or agitate). Regardless of its precise Latin roots, the word was adopted directly into English as a formal, clinical term for the act of self-stimulation, carrying with it the classical weight and ambiguity of its source.
Analysis
This word is a simplex loanword from Latin. It is not productively segmented into meaningful substrings in modern English spelling.
Examples
The pamphlet discussed the commonality of the urge to masturbate.
Some cultures historically considered it a sin to masturbate.
The therapist provided factual information about why people masturbate.