La petite mort

La petite mort (French pronunciation: ​[la pətit mɔʁ], the little death) is an expression which means "the brief loss or weakening of consciousness" and in modern usage refers specifically to "the sensation of orgasm as likened to death".

The first attested use of the expression in English was in 1572 with the meaning of "fainting fit". It later came to mean "nervous spasm" as well. The first attested use with the meaning of "orgasm" was only in 1882. In modern usage, this term has generally been interpreted to describe the post-orgasmic state of unconsciousness that some people have after having some sexual experiences.

More widely, it can refer to the spiritual release that comes with orgasm or to a short period of melancholy or transcendence as a result of the expenditure of the "life force". Literary critic Roland Barthes spoke of la petite mort as the chief objective of reading literature, the feeling one should get when experiencing any great literature.

The term "la petite mort" does not always apply to sexual experiences. It can also be used when some undesired thing has happened to a person and has affected them so much that "a part of them dies inside". A literary example of this is found in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles when he uses the phrase to describe how Tess feels after she comes across a particularly gruesome omen after meeting with her own rapist:

The Neighbourhood

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The Neighbourhood (sometimes rendered as "THE NBHD") is an American alternative rock band formed in Newbury Park, California in 2011. The band is composed of vocalist Jesse Rutherford, guitarists Jeremy Freedman and Zach Abels, bassist Mikey Margott, and drummer Brandon Abel Fried. After releasing three EPs, I'm Sorry... "The Love collection" and Thank You, The Neighbourhood released their first full-length album, I Love You., on April 23, 2013, via Columbia Records. In November 2014, they released a mixtape titled "#000000 & #FFFFFF". The band's second album Wiped Out! was released on October 30, 2015.

History

Formation and I Love You. (2011–2013)

The band members chose the British spelling of 'neighbourhood' on the advice of their manager, in order to distinguish themselves from a band already using the American spelling.

In early 2012, The Neighbourhood came together to release "Female Robbery" and "Sweater Weather". In May 2012, the band unveiled a self-released free EP titled I'm Sorry.... The debut EP was produced by Justyn Pilbrow. In December 2012, The Neighbourhood released their second EP entitled Thank You. It included the songs "Let It Go" and "A Little Death".

Little Death (disambiguation)

La petite mort ("The little death") is a metaphor for a sexual orgasm.

Little Death may also refer to:

Little Theatre (Rochester, New York)

The Little Theatre in Rochester, New York, commonly known as "The Little" is a movie theatre located on historic East Avenue in downtown Rochester, New York and a modest non-profit multiplex specializing in art film, including independent and foreign productions outside the United States.

Founded in 1928, The Little is one of the oldest active movie theaters built specifically to show films in the US, serving as an alternative venue for cinema of higher artistic caliber than what was popular at the time. To remain in business, The Little has created a unique theater experience for its patrons strikingly different from that of standard commercial cinemas. The Little typically shows films that never make it to the large theater chains, either due to lack of publicity, popularity, exposure, or content that is too risky and/or inappropriate for larger audiences (such as NC-17 rated films). Foreign films, independent films, some documentary films and art films are its common fare.

Death

Death is the termination of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include biological aging (senescence), predation, malnutrition, disease, suicide, homicide, starvation, dehydration, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death. Death has commonly been considered a sad or unpleasant occasion, due to the termination of social and familial bonds with the deceased or affection for the being that has died. Other concerns include fear of death, necrophobia, anxiety, sorrow, grief, emotional pain, depression, sympathy, compassion, solitude, or saudade.

Etymology

The word death comes from Old English deað, which in turn comes from Proto-Germanic *dauthuz (reconstructed by etymological analysis). This comes from the Proto-Indo-European stem *dheu- meaning the "Process, act, condition of dying".

Associated terms

The concept and symptoms of death, and varying degrees of delicacy used in discussion in public forums, have generated numerous scientific, legal, and socially acceptable terms or euphemisms for death. When a person has died, it is also said they have passed away, passed on, expired, or are gone, among numerous other socially accepted, religiously specific, slang, and irreverent terms. Bereft of life, the dead person is then a corpse, cadaver, a body, a set of remains, and when all flesh has rotted away, a skeleton. The terms carrion and carcass can also be used, though these more often connote the remains of non-human animals. As a polite reference to a dead person, it has become common practice to use the participle form of "decease", as in the deceased; another noun form is decedent. The ashes left after a cremation are sometimes referred to by the neologism cremains, a portmanteau of "cremation" and "remains".