Editing Heterosexuality (section)

== Terminology ==
{{see also|Terminology of homosexuality}}

''Hetero-'' comes from the Greek word ''ἕτερος'' [héteros], meaning "other party" or "another",<ref>Klein, Ernest, ''A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language: dealing with the origin of words and their sense development thus illustrating the history of civilization and culture'', p. 345. Oxford: Elsevier, 2000</ref> used in science as a [[prefix]] meaning "different";<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hetero |title=Hetero &#124; Define Hetero at Dictionary.com |website=Dictionary.reference.com |access-date=2016-07-07}}</ref> and the Latin word for sex (that is, characteristic sex or [[sexual differentiation]]).

The current use of the term ''heterosexual'' has its roots in the broader 19th century tradition of personality taxonomy. The term ''heterosexual'' was coined alongside the word ''homosexual'' by [[Karl Maria Kertbeny]] in 1869.<ref name=oosterhuis>{{cite journal |last1=Oosterhuis |first1=Harry |title=Sexual Modernity in the Works of Richard von Krafft-Ebing and Albert Moll |journal=Medical History |date=1 June 2012 |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=133–155 |doi=10.1017/mdh.2011.30|pmid=23002290 |pmc=3381524 }}</ref> The terms were not in current use during the late nineteenth century, but were reintroduced by [[Richard von Krafft-Ebing]] and [[Albert Moll (German psychiatrist)|Albert Moll]] around 1890.<ref name=oosterhuis/> The noun came into wider use from the early 1920s, but did not enter common use until the 1960s. The colloquial shortening "hetero" is attested from 1933. The abstract noun "heterosexuality" is first recorded in 1900.<ref>Mills, Jonathan, ''Love, Covenant & Meaning'', p. 22, Regent College Publishing, 1997.</ref> The word ''"heterosexual"'' was listed in Merriam-Webster's ''New International Dictionary'' in 1923 as a [[Medical terminology|medical term]] for "morbid sexual passion for one of the opposite sex"; however, in 1934 in their ''Second Edition Unabridged'' it is defined as a "manifestation of sexual passion for one of the opposite sex; normal sexuality".<ref>Katz, Jonathan Ned (1995) ''The Invention of Heterosexuality'', p. 92. New York, NY: Dutton (Penguin Books). {{ISBN|0-525-93845-1}}</ref>

Hyponyms of heterosexual include ''heteroflexible''.<ref>Porn.com: Making Sense of Online Pornography - Page 229, Feona Attwood - 2010</ref><ref>Patience: A Gay Man's Virtue - Page 80, La Lumiere - 2012</ref>

The word can be informally<ref name=":1" /> shortened to "hetero".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/hetero |title=hetero |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |access-date=2013-10-11}}</ref> The term ''straight'' originated as a mid-20th century [[gay slang]] term for heterosexuals, ultimately coming from the phrase "to go straight" (as in "straight and narrow"), or stop engaging in homosexual sex. One of the first uses of the word in this way was in 1941 by author G. W. Henry.<ref name=Henry>Henry, G. W. (1941). ''Sex Variants: A Study of Homosexual Patterns''. New York: Paul B. Hoeber</ref> Henry's book concerned conversations with homosexual males and used this term in connection with people who are identified as [[ex-gay]]s. It is now simply a colloquial term for "heterosexual", having changed in primary meaning over time. Some object to usage of the term ''straight'' because it implies that non-heterosexual people are crooked.<ref>Encyclopedia Of School Psychology - Page 298, T. Steuart Watson, Christopher H. Skinner - 2004</ref>