sex
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: sĕks
ipa: /sɛks/
rhymes: -ɛks
homophone: secs
homophone: sects (some accents)
Forms: form: sexes
form: sexing
form: sexed
form: sexed
form: sexe
form: s*x
Etymology: From Middle English sexe (“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).
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).
Senses: examples: text: If we sex the cattle, which is the only way to get at their value, we shall have... 400 cows, 200 yearling heifers.
ref: 1878 January 19, Spirit of the Times, 659/2:
text: If, in fact, in L. funebris there is no sex marker on the song elements themselves, then a young bird must be able to sex its tutor. The same is true if the individuals were predisposed to produce the total vocabulary of any population, or of both sexes in their own population, and then under experience had to suppress a sex-specific subset of that repertoire [7]. It seems unrealistic to assume the reverse, that a parent bird can sex by some hidden cues newly hatched sexually monomorphic offspring and direct its own vocabulary to consexual young only.
ref: 1996 December 1, W. Wickler, K. Lunau, “How Do East African Bush Shrikes Laniarius funebris Recognize Male and Female Tutors During Gender Dialect Development?”, in Naturwissenschaften, volume 83, →DOI, pages 579b–c:
text: The ability to sex birds invasively through laparoscopy initially solved that problem, but now it is even easier and less stressful on the birds through testing the DNA of their feathers or blood.
ref: 2007, Clive Roots, Domestication, page 75:
text: Semen usually is sexed at 90% accuracy, and the sexes of calves at birth almost always are in that statistical range if averaged over […]
ref: 2013, David J Patterson, Michael T. Smith, Beef Heifer Development, An Issue of Veterinary Clinics: Food Animal Practice,, Elsevier Health Sciences, →ISBN:
topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: To determine the sex of (an animal).
examples: text: As good as Muddah had handled me in bed, sexing her hadn't done a damn thing to take my mind off my cousin Smoove.
ref: 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 102:
text: He shows some glimpses, but most of the released singles are about flossing, partying, and sexing women.
ref: 2007, Mickey Hess, Icons of hip hop : an encyclopedia of the movement, music, and culture. 2, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 427:
text: Sex with Ivory had gotten better than sexing his wife. Herschel laughed with Ivory, cried with Ivory. They dreamt aloud together. Unlike Nikki, Ivory believed in him. Every man needed a woman who believed in him.
ref: 2009, HoneyB, Single Husbands, Grand Central Publishing, →ISBN:
text: "Do you ever think about how you're betraying your client while you're sexing his wife?"
ref: 2012, Janice Jones, His Woman, His Wife, His Widow, Urban Books, →ISBN:
text: Wosick-Correa, K. R., 81 Joseph, L. J. Sexy ladies sexing ladies: Women as consumers in strip clubs. Journal of Sex Research, 45, 3 (July 2008), 201-216.
ref: 2014, Jerrold S. Greenberg, Clint E. Bruess, Sara B. Oswalt, Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, →ISBN, page 731:
text: His body shook uncontrollably as he imagined another man sexing his wife.
ref: 2014, Anya Nicole, Judgment Day, Urban Books, →ISBN:
text: The last thing a jealous husband wants to think about is another man sexing his wife when he's dead and gone.
ref: 2015, Pimpin' Ken, The Art of Human Chess: A Study Guide to Winning, →ISBN, page 117:
text: Sexing his wife anally would remind him of having sex with Baron.
ref: 2016, Nisa Santiago, Killer Dolls - Part 3, Melodrama Publishing, →ISBN:
text: The neighbor guy, I just came to understand, is sexing the lady across the street from him. He's got a girlfriend. She is married. While I don't think that is particularly cool, I also don't think it is any of my business either.
ref: 2019, Michael Jean Nystrom-Schut, Foundations of Philosophy: The Basics of the Balance (Volume Iil), AuthorHouse, →ISBN:
glosses: To have sex with.
examples: text: Our baby is eighteen months old now, and cries when we sex
ref: 1921 August 20, Kenneth Burke, letter to Malcolm Cowley:
glosses: To have sex.
Synonyms: sense: to have sex
word: do it
word: get it on
word: have sex
word: copulate
Derived terms: missex
sex up