Tribadism

From Homolexis Glossary

Tribadism, sometimes colloquially known as tribbing, is female-to-female genital sex. It is a form of frottage, stimulating another person by rubbing. In tribadism two women rub their vulvas together, possibly to stimulate each other's clitoris to orgasm. The word comes from the French word tribade, which in turn stems from the Latin tribas, a transliteration of Greek τριβάς, from Greek τρίβειν, "to rub." The term tribadism is not attested in Ancient Greek.

The earliest usages of the English word tribade cited by Oxford English Dictionary do not specifically and explicitly refer to either the use of a dildo or direct vulva-to-vulva stimulation. The meaning of the word may have been, at that point, merely "homosexual woman," corresponding to the modern meaning of the word lesbian. The earliest use of the English word tribadism cited by Oxford English Dictionary is a document from the U.S. Surgeon-General's office from 1811. The first usage of the word to refer clearly and specifically to vulva-to-vulva stimulation is from 1965.

It appears that because the English word tribade originally referred to any homosexual woman, tribadism was originally essential a synonym for lesbianism. According to the OED, this is still its primary meaning, although the examples make it clear that from 1965 on, the term is used specifically to describe vulva-to-vulva stimulation.. This specific usage was probably influenced by a reinterpretation of the literal meaning of tribade. The term is thought to ultimately derive from the ancient Greek word "to rub" tribein τρίβειν. The English verb to trib derives from an abbreviation of tribadism.

Tribadism is known by many colloquialisms such as "bumping donuts," "bumping fur," “scissoring," "clit-clatting," "clam-jousting," "gash mashing," "prawn wrestling," "happy slapping," "french connection," "rug rubbing," "ditch twitching," and so on. Some Latin American countries, as well as Spain, dub the act "making tortillas" since the physical act is reminiscent of the hand motions used for hand-flattening tortillas. Sometimes lesbians are called "tortilleras" (tortilla makers). And there is the element of the physical resemblance in some minds of the female genitalia to a taco, which is derived from tortillas. In Venezuela, where tortillas are not part of the diet, the analogous slang word is "Cachaperas" (Cachapa makers). Cachapa is a Venezuelan flat-shaped dish made of fresh sweet corn. In Brazil and Portugal, the term "Velcro” is used colloquially in reference to tribadism and the lesbian sexuality.