One method is the sex partner taking the penis into the mouth and moving smoothly up and down the penis to a rhythm while being careful to avoid contact with the teeth. The essential aspect of fellatio is oral stimulation of the penis through some combination of sucking, use of the tongue and lips, and movement of the mouth. When the penis is thrust into someone's mouth, it may be called irrumatio, though the term is rarely used. People may use fellatio as foreplay to sexually arouse their sex partner before vaginal or anal intercourse, or other sexual activity, or they may use it as an erotic and physically intimate act in its own right. Illustration by Édouard-Henri Avril of fellatio sceneįellatio can be sexually arousing for both participants, and males who receive fellatio commonly experience orgasm and ejaculation of semen during the act. The equivalent term for a female is fellatrix. Latin's gender based declension means this word may be restricted by some English speakers to describing a male. A person who performs fellatio upon another (i.e. The -io( n) ending is used in English to create nouns from Latin adjectives and it can indicate a state or action wherein the Latin verb is being, or has been, performed.įurther English words have been created based on the same Latin root. In fellatio the -us is replaced by the -io while the declension stem ends in -ion-, which gives the suffix the form -ion (cf. The English noun fellatio comes from the Latin fellātus, the past participle of the verb fellāre, meaning to suck. Commonly, people do not view oral sex as affecting the virginity of either partner, though opinions on the matter vary. People may also refrain from engaging in fellatio due to personal preference, negative feelings, or sexual inhibitions. Most countries do not have laws banning the practice of fellatio, though some cultures may consider it taboo. Fellatio creates a risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), but the risk is significantly lower than that of vaginal or anal sex, especially for HIV transmission. It may be performed by a sexual partner as foreplay before other sexual activities, such as vaginal or anal intercourse, or as an erotic and physically intimate act of its own. If fellatio is performed on oneself, the act is called autofellatio.įellatio can be sexually arousing for both participants, and may lead to orgasm for the partner being fellated. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may also be termed fellatio, or colloquially as teabagging. An illustration of a woman performing fellatio on a manįellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the penis of another person by using the mouth, throat, or both.