来自圣经中人物Onan,son of Judah.他宁可将精液洒到地上，也不帮助自己嫂子怀孕，避免生下不属于自己的后代，耶和华憎恨其所为，使他死亡。由其行为引申词义手淫，并且家长常常断章取义吓唬自己手淫的小孩，如果手淫将会有上帝来取你性命。详见《圣经》。
英文词源
onanism (n.)
"masturbation," also "coitus interruptus," 1727, from Onan, son of Judah (Gen. xxxviii:9), who spilled his seed on the ground rather than impregnate his dead brother's wife: "And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother." The moral of this verse was redirected by those who sought to suppress masturbation.
