self-abuse

[self-uh-byoos, self-]

noun

Origin of self-abuse

First recorded in 1595–1605

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for self-abuse

Historical Examples of self-abuse

A girl of nine years was brought to my office addicted to self-abuse.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
The symptoms of sexual excess are much the same as those of self-abuse.
The Eugenic Marriage, Vol 2 (of 4)
W. Grant Hague
Self-abuse in one or another form is as common in the case of the girl as in that of the boy.
Sex
Henry Stanton
Self-abuse is not an uncommon evil at the age of eight or ten.
Searchlights on Health: Light on Dark Corners
B.G. Jefferis
What effect will a period of self-abuse have upon ones offspring?
Self Knowledge and Guide to Sex Instruction
T. W. Shannon

British Dictionary definitions for self-abuse

self-abuse

noun

disparagement or misuse of one's own abilities, etc
a censorious term for masturbationSee masturbation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for self-abuse

c.1600, "self-deception," from self- + abuse (n.). As a synonym for "masturbation," it is recorded from 1728; an earlier term was self-pollution (1620s).

self-abuse in Medicine

self-abuse

Abuse of oneself or one's abilities.
Masturbation.