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sessuale

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word sessuale

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1813
Borrowed from
Latin sexualis
Ultimate origin
Latin sexus

Pronunciation

  • /ses.suˈa.le/, /sesˈswa.le/[1]

Forms

sessuale m or f by sense (plural sessuali)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin sexuālis (“relating to sex”), used by Caelius Aurelianus and formed on sexus (“sex”) with the suffix -ālis.[2][3][4][1] DEI suggests that it came in through French sexuel, which it dates to 1775, and GRADIT and Sabatini–Coletti also compare the French word, which GRADIT dates to 1742.[2][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to 1813 and Zingarelli to 1819.[5][7] DELI's first record is Antonio Rosmini (1841), in the general sense “relating to sex”;[3][4][8] Nocentini and Devoto–Oli give 1865.[3][4][8]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century sessuale was a learned word of natural history: Tommaseo's dictionary records organi sessuali, also of plants.[9][2] The noun sessualità is also of the 19th century.[2] In the 20th century the word moved from anatomy and biology to behaviour and society, in phrases such as educazione sessuale and rivoluzione sessuale, the term of the psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich for freeing sexual life from social constraint.[5][10][7]

Timeline

  • 1813 – Sessuale is first recorded.[5]
  • 1841 – Rosmini uses it.[3][6]
  • 19th century – Sessualità is recorded.[2]
  • 1865 – The word enters the dictionaries.[4][8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to sex in its anatomical and physiological aspects: organi sessuali, riproduzione sessuale.[5][8][10]
  2. Relating to sexuality and sexual behaviour, in its social and psychological aspects: Il corso parla anche di salute sessuale.[5][8][10]

Word family

  • sessualità
  • sessualmente
  • asessuale
  • transessuale
  • intersessuale
  • sessualizzare

Usage notes

Rapporto sessuale, often simply rapporto, is sexual intercourse.[10][11] The pronunciation is /ses.suˈa.le/ or, with a glide, /sesˈswa.le/.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3467
  3. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  6. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  7. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Sessuale.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/sessuale. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·