Etymologically
Log in

sexualis

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:44. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [sɛk.suˈaː.lɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [seɡ.zuˈaː.lis][1]

Forms

sexuālis (neuter sexuāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin sexus + -ālis, from sexus (“sex”).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its only ancient record is in Caelius Aurelianus, On Acute Diseases (3.18.184), where manus sexualis is the hand of a woman.[2][3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

Gaffiot therefore glosses it as “of the female sex”,[5] while Lewis & Short and Georges give the general sense “belonging to sex”.[2][3] Ecclesiastical Latin uses it for “sexual, relating to sex”.[6] Italian sessuale comes from the Late Latin word,[7] and English sexual was formed from it in the 1650s, first meaning “of either sex, male or female”.[8]

Timeline

  • 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus calls a woman's hand sexualis.[2][4]
  • 1650s – English takes it as sexual.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Belonging to sex; of the female sex, a woman's.[2][3][5]
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Sexual, relating to sex.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com