sexual orientationn.
/ˌsɛkʃʊəl ɔːrɪənˈteɪʃn/, /ˌsɛksjʊ(ə)l ɔːrɪənˈteɪʃn/, U.S. /ˈˌsɛkʃ(əw)əl ˌɔriənˈteɪʃ(ə)n/; see also orientation n. Originally: (the process of) orientation with respect to a sexual goal, potential mate, partner, etc. Later chiefly: a person's sexual identity in relation to the gender to whom he or she is usually attracted; (broadly) the fact of being heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual.In early use probably not a fixed collocation.
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the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > [noun]
sexual preference1822
sexuality1897
sexual orientation1931
orientation1978
1931 J. P. Lichtenberger Divorce xv. 369 Courtship..is a normal, but in the absence of sex knowledge often a bungling process of sexual orientation.
1946 G. H. Seward Sex & Social Order xi. 153 Deviant sexual orientation in later life may originate in the child's inability to identify himself with his like-sexed parent.
1953 Amer. Q. 5 340 I was dealing with..psychoanalytic characterologies which are based on sexual orientation—Freud's oral, anal and genital types.
1967 N.Y. Times Mag. 3 Dec. 32/2 He calls for research on how homosexuals become homosexuals... We must research why heterosexuals become heterosexuals—or rather, what forces determine sexual orientation in general.
1987 R. Shilts And Band played On (1988) iv. xx. 199 The man's disputed sexual orientation only muddied the scenario.
1995 Science 10 Feb. 902 (heading) Genetic feminization of brain structures and changed sexual orientation in male Drosophila.
2002 Independent (Electronic ed.) 28 Mar. 8 Heterosexual teachers don't realise how often they reinforce their sexual orientation... They wear a wedding ring, talk about their spouse in class and relay stories about their children.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1931