Anal sex, especially between men — the noun for the act. The word is formal and heavy, and it is mostly a legal and religious word rather than a sexual one.

Anal sex, especially between men肛交，尤其是指男性之間的 — the noun for the act.──這是指這個行為的名詞。The word is formal and heavy,這個字很正式、也很沉重， and it is mostly a legal and religious word而且主要是法律和宗教用字， rather than a sexual one.而不是性相關的用字。

For centuries many countries had 'sodomy laws' making the act a crime, and that is where you meet the word most often today: in history, in court cases, in arguments about how those laws were finally struck down.

For centuries many countries had 'sodomy laws' making the act a crime,好幾百年來，許多國家都有「sodomy laws」（雞姦法），把這個行為列為犯罪， and that is where you meet the word most often today:這也是你今天最常遇到這個字的地方： in history, in court cases, in arguments about how those laws were finally struck down.在歷史裡、在法庭案件裡、在討論這些法律最後如何被廢除的爭論裡。

Notice how wide the old legal meaning was — in many old laws 'sodomy' was a vague catch-all covering any sex the lawmakers disapproved of, including sex between a man and a woman and sex with animals, so when you read the word in an old text you cannot be sure exactly what act is meant.

Notice how wide the old legal meaning was注意舊時法律上的意思有多廣 — in many old laws 'sodomy' was a vague catch-all──在許多舊法律裡，「sodomy」是個模糊的統稱， covering any sex the lawmakers disapproved of,涵蓋任何立法者不贊同的性行為， including sex between a man and a woman and sex with animals,包括男女之間的性行為，以及與動物的性行為， so when you read the word in an old text所以當你在舊文本裡讀到這個字時 you cannot be sure exactly what act is meant.你無法確定它指的到底是哪一種行為。

In modern everyday English nobody says 'sodomy' when talking about sex; the word survives because the laws and the history survive.

In modern everyday English nobody says 'sodomy' when talking about sex;在現代日常英文裡，講到性的時候沒有人會說「sodomy」； the word survives because the laws and the history survive.這個字之所以還留著，是因為那些法律和歷史還留著。