sexy

Forms

sexy (invariable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English sexy, an adjective recorded in English from 1928 and formed from sex.^[2][3][4][1] The English noun comes from Old French sexe (“sex”), the source also of Italian sesso.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a remark by the novelist Michele Prisco in Il Borghese of 15 September 1950: Sai che noi napoletani siamo i ragazzi più sexy? (“Do you know that we Neapolitans are the sexiest boys?”).^[2][5][4] Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Sabatini–Coletti give 1959, and Zingarelli 1953.^[3][6][7][8]

Semantic evolution

From people the word spread to clothes and poses, and in a 1966 interview in L'Europeo a man defends the vestito sexy for men too.^[5][4] It was also applied to texts, pictures and shows of an erotic kind (film sexy), and Guido Piovene used it of books that pleased American readers.^[5][7] Treccani also records it as a noun, il sexy, erotic content, as in the spread of sex in shows and in the press.^[9] Italian formed the intensive supersexy.^[1]

Timeline

• 1928 – English sexy is recorded.^[2]
• 1950 – Michele Prisco uses sexy in Il Borghese.^[2][4]
• 1953 – Zingarelli's date for the word.^[8]
• 1959 – The date given by Nocentini and Devoto–Oli.^[3][6]
• 1966 – L'Europeo writes of the vestito sexy.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. sexy, sexually attractive or provocative, of a person or of their clothes, manner or voice: Si era messa un vestito molto sexy per la festa.^[4][6][7]
2. erotic, of a film, show, picture or text: una rivista sexy.^[4][6][7]

Word family

• supersexy

Related words

• sesso
• English sex

Usage notes

Sexy is invariable (una ragazza sexy, foto sexy) and is pronounced /ˈsɛksi/.^[4][1][6] Treccani also lists a noun use, il sexy, for erotic content.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana