Jerking off
Meaning
Jerking off is a frequently used slang for male masturbation, meaning “jerking” the penis – basically, a man stimulating himself until reaching orgasm.
Different variations of the term exist, such as “jerking off someone”, meaning masturbating someone else, or “jerk off!” which is similar to “fuck off” or “piss off”, when aggressively telling someone to leave.
It may even be an adjective you call a person you dislike: “He is such a jerk-off!”.
Origin
The slang originates from the addition of the two terms “jerking” and “off”, “jerking” meaning performing a rapid pulling motion, and “off”, which can be compared to “come off”, another frequently used slang for experiencing orgasm, or “coming”.
According to Etymonline, the slang was first used as early as in 1896.
Spread and Usage
“Jerking off” is a popular slang used by the male population, both in real life and online, synonymous (and often preferred) to masturbating.
In fact, the term has become so synonymous to “masturbating” that even the female population has started using it as slang for female self-pleasure.
Obvious use of the term can be seen online, as the slang is also frequently searched for on various porn sites. There are close to 27000 porn movies with “jerking off” as title – just on Pornhub.
This slang has come to stay.
External References
- Urban Dictionary – Jerking Off