ejaculation

Noun

ejaculation (countable and uncountable, plural ejaculations)

1. The act of ejecting or suddenly throwing fluid or some other substance from a duct or other body structure.
   • Dehiscence, or Ejaculation of Pollen or Seed.— The pollen of plants is the fecundating power, and consists of a number of small sacs, invisible to the naked eye, in which a fluid exists, which is analogous to the spermatic fluid in man and animals.1837, Michael Ryan, The Philosophy of Marriage, in Its Social, Moral, and Physical Relations; with an Account of the Diseases of the Genito-urinary Organs which Impair or Destroy the Reproductive...
   • The spermatophores begin to ejaculate immediately after leaving the penis and the whole process is completed in a very few seconds. Pulling the filament attached to the ejaculatory end of a spermatophore is all that is needed to start its ejaculation.1910 June 20, Gilman A. Drew, “Sexual Activities of the Squid, Loligo pealii (Les.). I. Copulation, Egg-laying and Fertilization”, in Journal of Morphology, volume 22, number 2, Philadelphia, Pa....
   1. (specifically) A reflex in human beings and other mammals in response to sexual stimulation involving the forcible ejection from the urethra of, in males, semen; and, in females, vaginal fluid.
      • The moment of ejaculation in mammiferous animals is accompanied by universal excitement of the whole body, a kind of slight convulsion, which terminates in a comatose or exstatic state.1837, Michael Ryan, The Philosophy of Marriage, in Its Social, Moral, and Physical Relations; with an Account of the Diseases of the Genito-urinary Organs which Impair or Destroy the Reproductive...
      • By repeating this process several times before ejaculation and by practicing this procedure, the man will learn to control his ejaculation.1995, Louis Diamant, Richard D. McAnulty, editors, The Psychology of Sexual Orientation, Behavior, and Identity: A Handbook, Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, →ISBN, page 190
2. (obsolete) The act of throwing or darting out with a sudden force and rapid flight.
   • Thus far, we have given a general account of [Nicolas le Fèvre]'s theory. Further elaboration is to be found in his account of the generation of metals. Here it is suggested that it is light "which by its ejaculation and irradiation did imprint and stamp the Idea and Character of its vertue in...1974, D. R. Oldroyd, “Some Neo-Platonic and Stoic Influences on Mineralogy in the 16th and 17th Centuries”, in Allen G. Debus, editor, Alchemy and Early Modern Chemistry: Papers from Ambix, [London]...
3. (dated) The uttering of a short, sudden exclamation or prayer, or the exclamation or prayer uttered.
   • They say no graces; but when their meal is on the table, they sit silent and in a thoughtful posture for a short time, waiting for an illapſe of the Spirit. If they are not moved to make any ejaculation, they begin to eat without more ado.1807 April, Francis Jeffrey, “A Portraiture of Quakerism, as Taken from a View of the Moral Education, Discipline, Peculiar Customs, Religious Principles, Political and Civil Economy, and Character...
   • [T]hey entered, and drove slowly towards the village; leaving her with hands clasped and uplifted, as in the act of reiterating her fervent ejaculation for their happiness. Nor was her ejaculation wholly breathed in vain: of their felicity, however, suffice it to record, that blessed with a...1826, William Child Green, The Woodland Family, or The Sons of Error and Daughters of Simplicity, A Domestic Tale, London: J. M'Gowan and Sons, →OCLC, page 556