What is the origin of the word "pornography?"?

Answer 1

Many of the entomology's will say it is from late french writing about prostitutes. But I don;t buy it.

Several years ago I was reading an early (1st century) roman text. It had the a word similar to pornia or pornios or in it. ( I can't remember and it wasn't important to what I was doing) I tried to find the word in dictionaries but it wasn't there. It was obvious from the context the word had something to do with pictures. The current Latin dictionaries do not have any words for picture or anything like it. If you go back to roman ruins you can see that they had the most extensive art it the history of the world to that point, and no word for "picture" ? (" pictura" latin for paint is the root of our word picture but Romans had pictures as well and where is that word?)

I stick with a Latin root I am willing to bet no one has done the necessary footwork to document it. Pictures of sex have been around for a couple of thousand years and the Romans didn't miss a beat when it came to anything of perversion or commerce.

The late 19th century explanation is just plain wrong. The word is much older than that.

Answer 2

Late Greek

Answer 3

Greek roots: porni = prostitute, graphao = write

First recorded use often said to be late 18 century French. (Educated Europe still forms new words for Greek and Latin roots)

Answer 4

Greek and later French

Answer 5

from Late Greek pornographos [writing about prostitutes]

Answer 6

Etymology: 19c: from Greek pornographos writing about prostitutes, from porne prostitute + graphein to write.