masochism
noun
ˈma-zə- 
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What is the Difference Between the Words masochism & sadism?
Masochism and sadism are both about the enjoyment of pain. Masochism refers to the enjoyment of experiencing pain while sadism refers to the enjoyment of inflicting pain on someone else.
Interestingly, both masochism and sadism are eponymous words. English has thousands of such words, taken from the names of people both real and fictional. Masochism comes from the name of the 19th century German novelist, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. It is unusual in that it began to be used during the lifetime of the man from whom it originated (Sacher-Masoch died in 1895, and masochism had been in printed use since 1892).Sadism comes from the name of the French writer, the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814).
The two words are not only often encountered in connection with one another, they have been combined into a single word, sadomasochism.
Example Sentences
Frances Solá-santiago, refinery29.com, 2 May 2022 To anyone who’s lost precious hours of their own days to doomscrolling, this might sound like an exercise in digital masochism. Mikey O'connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 June 2022 Since the beginning of 2022, aesthetics associated with BDSM — a set of erotic practices that include bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism — have entered the mainstream fashion landscape. Frances Solá-santiago, refinery29.com, 2 May 2022 Since the beginning of 2022, aesthetics associated with BDSM — a set of erotic practices that include bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism — have entered the mainstream fashion landscape. Frances Solá-santiago, refinery29.com, 2 May 2022 Newsweek has reported about a cluster of monkeypox cases arising from a recent conference in Chicago known as International Mr. Leather for fans of bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism, or BDSM. Helena Oliviero, ajc, 17 June 2022 Since the beginning of 2022, aesthetics associated with BDSM — a set of erotic practices that include bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism — have entered the mainstream fashion landscape. Frances Solá-santiago, refinery29.com, 2 May 2022 As with disgust, benign masochism is a uniquely human experience. New York Times, 27 Dec. 2021 Since the beginning of 2022, aesthetics associated with BDSM — a set of erotic practices that include bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism — have entered the mainstream fashion landscape. Frances Solá-santiago, refinery29.com, 2 May 2022 See More Word History
borrowed from German Masochismus, from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch †1895 Austrian fiction writer and journalist + -ismus -ism
Note: The German noun was coined by Richard von krafft-ebing, probably first in Neue Forschungen auf dem Gebiet der Psychopathia sexualis (Stuttgart, 1890), p. 1 ff. Krafft-Ebing describes the coinage as follows: "Diese im folgenden zu besprechenden Perversionen der Vita sexualis mögen Masochismus genannt werden, da der bekannte Romanschriftsteller Sacher Masoch in zahlreichen seiner Romanen, ganz besonders in seiner bekannten "Die Venus im Pelz", diese eigene Art der sexuellen Perversion zum Lieblingsgegenstand seiner Schriften gemacht hat." ("The perversions of sexual life to be discussed in what follows may be named masochism, as the well-known novelist Sacher Masoch has made this particular type of sexual perversion a favorite object of his writing in a number of his novels, especially in his well-known Venus in Fur.") The same passage appears in the article "Ueber Masochismus," in the Wiener Medizinische Blätter, No. 52 (December 25, 1890), p. 817.
1892, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
masochism
noun
ˈmaz-