sexuality English · revision 10702

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1789|origins=en sexual}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌsek.ʃuˈæl.ə.ti/, US /ˌsek.ʃuˈæl.ə.t̬i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[sexual]] and [[-ity]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The fact of being sexed, or having distinctions between the sexes: 1789 in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) before 1800 in the OED, about 1800 in Merriam-Webster.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Preoccupation with sexual matters is from 1848,^(OED 1989) and the capability of sexual feelings from 1879.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) An 1894 medical handbook drew a strict biological line: “A man has sex, a spermatozoon sexuality.”^(Etymonline) The sense of a person's sexual identity or orientation is by 1980.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1789 – being sexed.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1848 – preoccupation with sex.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1879 – capability of sexual feeling.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1980 – sexual identity.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person's sexual feelings, interests or [[orientation]].^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The capacity for sexual feelings; sexual character or potency.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The state of being distinguished by [[sex]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[antisexuality]]

+ * [[heterosexuality]]

+ * [[homosexuality]]

+ * [[psychosexuality]]

+ * [[supersexuality]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sex]]

+ * [[sexual]]

+ * [[sexy]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}