affectional orientation

[ uh-fek-shuh-nl awr-ee-uhn-tey-shuhn, ‐en‐ ]

noun

1. one's natural preference for a romantic partner of one gender or the other, or the absence of gender preference in a romantic relationship; one’s aromantic, biromantic, heteroromantic, homoromantic, or panromantic identity.

Word History and Origins

Origin of affectional orientation¹

First recorded in 1965–70