What does ejaculation mean?
Ejaculation is a noun with two distinct senses, only one of which remains common today. Its dominant meaning is physiological: the forceful discharge of semen from the body, typically occurring at sexual climax, discussed routinely in medicine, reproductive health, and biology — as in phrases like premature ejaculation. A second, now largely archaic sense denotes a sudden, emphatic utterance or cry, as when a Victorian novelist writes of a character's startled ejaculation. The word derives from the Latin ejaculare, combining ex ('out') with iaculare ('to throw'), the same root that gives us words like inject, reject, and projectile. Because of its strong modern association with the sexual meaning, using it for a mere exclamation can sound odd or comic to present-day readers. It remains standard vocabulary in clinical and scientific contexts, where neutral terms are preferred over euphemisms.
The discharge of semen from the body, usually at sexual climax.
"Retrograde ejaculation occurs when semen travels backward into the bladder during orgasm."
Standard in medical and scientific writing.
A sudden, brief exclamation or cry.
"With an ejaculation of alarm, she dropped the vase."
Chiefly literary or dated; may sound amusing to modern readers.
Regular plural; used for both the physiological events and, in older literature, repeated exclamations.
"Multiple ejaculations within a short period are not unusual."
In older novels, characters didn't shout — they 'ejaculated': Sherlock Holmes famously does so repeatedly in Conan Doyle's stories.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ejaculation
Ejaculation comes from Latin ejaculare, formed from ex- ('out') plus iaculare ('to throw', from iaculum, a dart or javelin, ultimately from iacere, 'to throw'). It entered English in the early 17th century, initially carrying the general sense of a sudden utterance before acquiring its anatomical meaning. The same Latin root underlies a wide family of English words, including inject, reject, project, and projectile.
Related word forms
How ejaculation is actually used
In contemporary English the word overwhelmingly refers to the physiological sense and carries a clinical or medical register; the literary sense of a sudden cry is largely confined to 19th- and early 20th-century writing and can strike modern readers as unintentionally humorous.
Easily confused with ejaculation
An exclamation is any sudden emphatic remark or cry, while an ejaculation in its non-sexual sense refers specifically to such a sudden outburst — and in modern usage 'ejaculation' most often refers to the physiological release of semen.