English

sex

/ˈsɛks/
A category into which sexually-reproducing organisms are divided on the basis of their reproductive roles in their species; the system of such categories, which can differ by organism or by taxonomic branch.

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    Origin

    From Middle English sexe (“sex [distinction between male and female] and gender”), from Old French sexe (“genitals; gender”), from Latin sexus (“gender; gender traits; males or females; genitals”), from Proto-Italic *seksus, from Proto-Indo-European *séksus, from *sek- (“to cut, cut off, sever”), thus meaning "section, division" (into male and female). Displaced native Old English hād (“sex, gender”).

    Usage for women influenced by Middle French le sexe (“women”) (attested in 1580). Usage for third and additional sexes calqued from French troisième sexe, referring to masculine women in 1817 and homosexuals in 1847. First used by Lord Byron and others in English in reference to Catholic clergy. Usage for sexual intercourse first attested in 1899 (in the writings of H. G. Wells).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishsexe
      • derivedOld Frenchsexe
        • derivedLatinsexus
          • inheritedProto-Italic*seksus
            • derivedProto-Indo-European*séksus
          • derivedLatinsecāre “to cut”
            • derivedLatinsecō “cut”
    • rootProto-Indo-European*sek- “to cut”

    Related: Middle French sexe, French troisième sexe

    Sources