Word: sexuality Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sek-der. Proto-Indo-European *séks-u-sder. Proto-Italic *seksus Proto-Indo-European *sek-der. Proto-Italic *sekaō Latin secō Latin secāre? Latin sexus Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin sexuālis Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās New Latin sexuālitāslbor. English sexuality Learned borrowing from New Latin sexuālitās. By surface analysis, sexual + -ity. Pronunciation: /sɛk.ʃuːˈæ.lɪ.ti/, /sɛk.sjuːˈæ.lɪ.ti/, /sɛk.ʃuˈæ.lə.ti/ 1. The quality of being sexual; that which is characterized or distinguished by sex. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Sexuality, then, is related to both biological sex and gender, and simultaneously is quite distinct from them. […] We employ sexuality to refer to all kinds of sexual relations, including sexual activities, eroticism, sexual identities, sexual meanings, and sexual politics. Example: An alternative pattern of change from sexuality to asexuality in Ascomycotina could involve the widespread occurrence of female sterility. Both asexuality and 'female sterility' are widespread in Ascomycotina, and this may indicate that many ascomycotous Fungi Anamorphici have lost sexuality by a gradual process initiated by the loss or mutation of a gene other than an MTF resulting in 'female sterility'. […] There is also clear evidnece that loss of sexuality has occurred more than once in Talaromyces [A] and, in addition, asexual species are separated from sexual species by short branch lengths in terminal clades […] 2. The quality of being sexual; that which is characterized or distinguished by sex. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: [W]hen adults with mild mental retardation are allowed to express their sexuality in appropriate ways, they are, in general, competent in terms of biological capability, sexual desire, and the psychological significance they attribute to sexual behavior[…]. However, they typically lack basic information about sexuality that would enhance their ability to engage in intimate relationships, as well as help them to be aware of the implications of that behavior and to protect themselves from exploitation. Example: Listening to teenage girls on the telephone discuss for an hour who held whose hand at a party underscores the universal adolescent fascination with burgeoning sexuality. 3. The quality of being sexual; that which is characterized or distinguished by sex. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: As his sexual activity is aggressive, so he is interested in display and in manifestation of his sexuality, if not directly, then in contest against other men. And the whole of his life manifests his inner need to take initiative. Example: [Thomas] Hardy relies heavily upon the natural object metaphor to provide him with a language of female sexuality that is not of the fastidious, fey, 'lilies-and-lace' category. In keeping with his heterodox views—that a voluptuous woman is a fair product of nature, fit and healthy in body and mind, neither degraded by her sexuality nor mentally or morally degenerate—he relies upon wholesome, 'natural' objects to evoke her healthy sexual appetite. 4. The quality of being sexual; that which is characterized or distinguished by sex. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: [T]his prospective gay adoptive father chose not to disclose his sexuality to the caseworker who interviewed him at his home, rather than admit that he was a gay man, in order to avoid being told he could not adopt. Example: Derek is the only participant to express ambivalence about both his sexuality and his gender identity. Aged 61, he has been married to women twice and has three children. He had no prior sexual encounters with men until he left his second wife in 1999, when he was 48, and began 'experimenting' with sexual relationships with men, soon identifying as gay: […] 5. The quality of being sexual; that which is characterized or distinguished by sex. Labels: countable, uncountable