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sexual

Etymology and origin of the English word sexual

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1651
Borrowed from
Latin sexualis
Ultimate origin
Latin (sexus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsek.ʃu.əl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin sexuālis (“relating to sex”),[2][3] from Latin sexus (“a sex, the state of being male or female”),[2][4] the source of sex.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Distinctive of either sex, of or pertaining to being male or female: 1651.[5][3] Etymonline dates it to the 1650s.[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “pertaining to copulation or generation”, as done by means of the two sexes, is from 1766,[2] and in the OED, of sex as concerned in generation, from 1799.[5] From it came the sense “of erotic desire and its gratification”[2] (1792 in the OED).[5] The Linnaean sexual system of classifying plants is from 1760.[5] Sexual intercourse is attested by 1771, sexual revolution by 1962, sexual orientation by 1967, sexual politics from 1970 and sexual harassment by 1975.[2][5]

Timeline

  • 1651 – of male or female.[5][3]
  • 1760 – sexual system of plants.[5]
  • 1766 – pertaining to copulation.[2]
  • 1771 – sexual intercourse.[2]
  • 1962 – sexual revolution.[2]
  • 1967 – sexual orientation.[2]
  • 1975 – sexual harassment.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to sex, sexuality, the sexes or the sex organs.
  2. Suggesting or involving erotic desire or activity.
  3. (biology) Involving the union of male and female gametes: sexual reproduction.

Word family

  • sexually
  • sex
  • sexy
  • sexuality
  • bisexual
  • asexual
  • heterosexual
  • homosexual

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Sexual.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/sexual. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·