Meanings
nouncandaulism (uncountable)
- rareuncountableA paraphilia, sexual practice, or fantasy in which a man exposes his female partner, or images of her, to other people for their voyeuristic pleasure.
Origin
From Candaul(es) (“a king of Lydia”) + -ism, from an account in The Histories of Herodotus in which King Candaules conceived a plot to show his naked and unaware wife to his servant Gyges.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
candaulism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/candaulism
MLA
“candaulism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/candaulism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “candaulism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/candaulism.
Source: candaulism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.