erotica

E1R1O1T1I1C3A1
/ɪˈɹɒt.ɪkə/

noun

Erotic literature, art, decoration, or other such work.

“There's a fine line between erotica and pornography.”

CommonScrabble 9

Meanings

nounerotica (countable and uncountable, plural eroticas)

plural eroticas

  1. uncountableErotic literature, art, decoration, or other such work.

    There's a fine line between erotica and pornography.

    1 more example

    In fact, eighteenth-century British erotica has been the subject of unremitting attention for the last two decades.

    2011, Patrick Spedding, James Lambert, “Fanny Hill, Lord Fanny, and the Myth of Metonymy”, in Studies in Philology, volume 108, number 1, page 114
  2. countableA work of erotica.

    Rather a principal avenue of traffic and distribution of eroticas is the social network of age-peers ([…]).

    1970 September, The Report of the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, page 224
    4 more examples

    Some films advertised as minor eroticas are so much in demand by the paying public and these have overshadowed the value of a few seminars which seem to draw only the scholars and the film theorists.

    1977, Link: Indian Newsmagazine, volume 19, page 5

    Tilson carries work by the late John Lennon, including lithographs, a few signed eroticas and republished drawings.

    1993, Milwaukee Magazine, volume 18, page 66

    Though the poetic work of Bhikṣu Padmaśrī, Nāgarasarvasva is an erotica, the writer has not followed Vätsyāyana in his work, rather, he has followed Bharata Muni.

    2001, Sumati Mutatkar, Suṣamā-kalāśrīḥ: Gems of Literature & Arts, Eastern Book Linkers, page 262

    His costume dramas (including eroticas) are all imprinted with the hallmark of this spectacular and lyrical “dream factory” of classical China.

    2019, Mia Yinxing Liu, “Introduction”, in Literati Lenses: Wenren Landscape in Chinese Cinema of the Mao Era, Honolulu, Haw.: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, page 17

Synonyms & antonyms

nouncreative activity (writing or pictures or films etc.) of no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire

Broader
creationcreative activity

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁rem-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁rém-e-tider.?
  3. Ancient Greekἐράω (eráō)
  4. Ancient Greekἔρως (érōs)
  5. Ancient Greekἐρωτῐκός (erōtĭkós)
  6. Latinerōtica
  7. Englisherotica

From neuter plural of Latin eroticus (“amatory”), from Ancient Greek ἐρωτικός (erōtikós). By surface analysis, erotic + -ica.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic شَبَقِيَّة
  • شَبَقِيَّة (šabaqiyya)erotic literature or art
Bengali কামোদ্দীপক সৃষ্টিকর্ম
  • কামোদ্দীপক সৃষ্টিকর্ম (kamōddipok sriśṭikormo)erotic literature or art
Bulgarian еро́тика
  • еро́тика (erótika)erotic literature or art
Chinese Mandarin 色情作品, 淫穢書畫 /淫秽书画
  • 色情作品 (sèqíng zuòpǐn)erotic literature or art
  • 淫穢書畫 /淫秽书画 (yínhuì shūhuà)erotic literature or art
Czech erotika
  • erotikaerotic literature or art
Danish erotik
  • erotikerotic literature or art
Dutch erotica
  • eroticaerotic literature or art
Estonian erootika
  • erootikaerotic literature or art
Finnish eroottinen kirjallisuus
  • eroottinen kirjallisuuserotic literature or art
French érotisme
  • érotismeerotic literature or art
German Erotik
  • Erotikerotic literature or art
Hungarian erotika
  • erotikaerotic literature or art
Italian erotismo
  • erotismoerotic literature or art
Japanese 色情作品, エロティカ
  • 色情作品 (shikijō sakuhin)erotic literature or art
  • エロティカ (erotika)erotic literature or art
Korean 색정 작품, 에로티카
  • 색정 작품 (saekjeong jakpum)erotic literature or art
  • 에로티카 (erotika)erotic literature or art
  • 성애물 (seong'aemul)erotic literature or art
Latvian erotika
  • erotikaerotic literature or art
Lithuanian erotika
  • erotikaerotic literature or art
Norwegian Bokmål erotikk
  • erotikkerotic literature or art
Polish erotyka, erotyzm
  • erotykaerotic literature or art
  • erotyzmerotic literature or art
Portuguese erotismo, erótica
  • erotismoerotic literature or art
  • eróticaerotic literature or art
Romanian erotism
  • erotismerotic literature or art
Russian эро́тика
  • эро́тика (erótika)erotic literature or art
Slovak erotika
  • erotikaerotic literature or art
Spanish erótica
  • eróticaerotic literature or art
Swedish erotik
  • erotikerotic literature or art
Ukrainian еро́тика
  • еро́тика (erótyka)erotic literature or art
Cite this entry
APA

erotica. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erotica

MLA

“erotica.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erotica. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “erotica,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erotica.

Source: erotica on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.