oral

Etymology

Early 17th century borrowing from Late Latin ōrālis, from ōs (“the mouth”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).

adj

1. (relational) Relating to the mouth.
   1. (pharmacology) Done or taken by the mouth.
   2. (phonetics, of a speech sound) Pronounced by the voice resonating in the mouth, as the vowels in English.
   3. (psychoanalysis, in Freudian theory) Relating to or denoting a stage of infantile psychosexual development during which libidinal gratification is derived from intake (as of food), by sucking, and later by biting.
   4. Of, relating to, or characterized by personality traits of passive dependency and aggressiveness.
2. (relational) Spoken rather than written.
   1. Relating to the transmission of information or literature by word of mouth.
   2. Using speech or the lips especially in teaching the deaf.
   3. (sociolinguistics, of a society) Not having reached the stage of literacy.

noun

1. (countable) A spoken test or examination, particularly in a language class.
   We've got our Spanish oral tomorrow.
2. (countable, usually in the plural) A physical examination of the mouth.
3. (uncountable, informal) Ellipsis of oral sex.
   I gave my boyfriend oral for the first time on his birthday.
4. (bodybuilding, countable) Ellipsis of oral steroid..