The recent invention of the word "heterosexual"

The OED has examples (the Chaddock references) of the current usage from 1892. Whilst it does have references to a slightly different scientific use (sense 2), it has no reference to any sense or usage suggesting "abnormal or perverted appetite for sexual attraction" - per the OP's Dorland quotation.

  1. a. Sexually or romantically attracted to, or engaging in sexual activity with, people of the opposite sex.

1892 C. G. Chaddock tr. R. von Krafft-Ebing Psychopathia Sexualis iii. 174 (note) Dr. Moll writes concerning this impulse in hetero-sexual individuals [Ger. bei Heterosexualen]: ‘The passion for handkerchiefs may go so far that the man is entirely under their control.’

1927 Scots Observer 1 Oct. 15/3 A certain proportion of people..are as instinctively homosexual as the normal individual is heterosexual.

1961 Encounter May 75 The relationships between homophiles seem to approximate very closely to the relationships between adult heterosexual men and women.

1990 D. Pallone & A. Steinberg Behind Mask xii. 195 Both gay and heterosexual men visit bars for many different reasons.

2014 Herald Bull. (Anderson, Indiana) 2 Mar. d2/1 First of all, let me say that I am unquestionably, without a doubt, entirely heterosexual.


I couldn't find the 1923 MW dictionary, but I did find this tweet from MW which confirms what it said:

In 1923, our entry for 'heterosexuality' defined it as "morbid sexual passion for one of the opposite sex."


I was, however, able to find C.G. Chaddock's translation of Krafft-Ebing's "Psychopathia Sexualis" (1892):

Dr. Moll writes concerning this impulse in hetero-sexual individuals [Ger. bei Heterosexualen]: ‘The passion for handkerchiefs may go so far that the man is entirely under their control.’

The object of post-hypnotic suggestion is to remove the impulse to masturbation and homosexual feelings and impulses, and to encourage heterosexual [Ger. heterosexualer] feelings with a sense of virility.

(Brackets from OED.)

This is actually just the normal sense of the word (in contrast to "homosexual").


I was also able to find an isolated 1892 citation for homosexual as a noun:

The Urning, if he is permitted to indulge his instinct, obtains the same relief & feeling of refreshment as the heterosexual does.
John Addington Symonds (1840-1893) and Homosexuality

Again, "heterosexual" here is the normal definition, contrasting with "Urning" which means "homosexual".