sex
/sɛks/
noun
Origin
Latin
sexus — a division, sex, state of being
Overview
Meaning Now
- Either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are placed on the basis of their reproductive functions.
- Sexual intercourse or sexual activity.
Literal older meaning
a division or separation
Language path
Latin → Middle French → English
Earliest form
sexus
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The word originally stems from the PIE root *sek- meaning 'to cut'. In Latin, 'sexus' implied a classification or division of beings. For centuries, the term was primarily biological or taxonomic, and its common usage to mean sexual intercourse is a relatively modern development, appearing predominantly in the early 20th century.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*sek-
“to cut”
- Latin
sexus
“a division or gender”
Derived from the past participle of secare (to cut), implying a dividing or separating into classes.
- Middle French
sexe
“gender, sex”
- Middle English
sex
“the property of being male or female”
- 20th Century
sex
“sexual intercourse”
Semantic narrowing from the biological category to the act itself.
Connections
Word parts
sex-
root
to cut/divide
Related across languages
French
sexe
sex
Spanish
sexo
sex
Related words
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Related to sex
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.