*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of anal

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁eh₂nos Proto-Italic *ānos Latin ānus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin ānālisbor. English ana

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Any of the anal scales of a reptile. · Anal sex.

verb

To penetrate anally.

adj

Of, related to, intended for or involving the anus. · Of the stage in psychosexual development when the child's interest is alleged to be concentrated on the anal region. · Of a person, compulsive and stubborn, obsessed with neatness and accuracy (usually in an egosyntonic way), supposedly from not having progressed beyond the anal stage. · Of tasks, questions, subject matter, etc., obsessively fussy or precise.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁eh₂nos Proto-Italic *ānos Latin ānus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin ānālisbor. English anal Borrowed from Latin ānālis. By surface analysis, anus + -al. Psychological sense shortened from anal-retentive.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:ānālis",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁eh₂nos\nProto-Italic *ānos\nLatin ānus\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-\nProto-Indo-European *-is\nProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?\nProto-Italic *-ālis\nLatin -ālis\nLatin ānālisbor.\nEnglish anal\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁eh₂nos\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*ānos\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"ānus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*h₂élis\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"grow\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂el-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-is\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-ālis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ālis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"ānālis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"anal\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"anal\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "ānālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Latin ānālis"
    },
    {
      "name": "surf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "anus",
        "3": "-al"
      },
      "expansion": "By surface analysis, anus + -al"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:ānālis",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₁eh₂nos\nProto-Italic *ānos\nLatin ānus\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-\nProto-Indo-European *-is\nProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?\nProto-Italic *-ālis\nLatin -ālis\nLatin ānālisbor.\nEnglish anal"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₁eh₂nos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁eh₂nos"
    ],
    [
      "*ānos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/ānos"
    ],
    [
      "ānus",
      "anus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂el-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂el-#Proto-Indo-European:_grow"
    ],
    [
      "*-is",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-is"
    ],
    [
      "*-ālis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-ālis"
    ],
    [
      "-ālis",
      "-alis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ānālis",
      "analis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ānālis",
      "analis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "anus",
      "anus#English"
    ],
    [
      "-al",
      "-al#English"
    ],
    [
      "anal-retentive",
      "anal-retentive#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Any of the anal scales of a reptile.",
        "Anal sex."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "informal",
        "uncountable"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 164200
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To penetrate anally."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "rare",
        "slang",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "d0a910ecfc5ac295417f23d3a59e1812a4047d4c288403bd4e5a52ebe0c4a062",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8ae55380121ec0bc3909c8dba655f0a20b93151aad3f311c7da7c3d60f3606e6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 164201
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Of, related to, intended for or involving the anus.",
        "Of the stage in psychosexual development when the child's interest is alleged to be concentrated on the anal region.",
        "Of a person, compulsive and stubborn, obsessed with neatness and accuracy (usually in an egosyntonic way), supposedly from not having progressed beyond the anal stage.",
        "Of tasks, questions, subject matter, etc., obsessively fussy or precise."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "also",
        "informal",
        "mildly",
        "vulgar"
      ],
      "recordId": "d2ccbccd47a3488db85d4d4d0791cfea0ee66bb6205f211d795d345aee3be540",
      "rawRecordSha256": "362654cb3d05c207fec2a6fc5e7b47f8ab2da683abb3238160df34d7a9e073cc",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 164199
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for anal →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YW5hbA