Word Study
sex
CIDE DICTIONARY
sex, n. [L. sexus: cf. F. sexe.].
- The distinguishing peculiarity of male or female in both animals and plants; the physical difference between male and female; the assemblage of properties or qualities by which male is distinguished from female. [1913 Webster]
- One of the two divisions of organic beings formed on the distinction of male and female. [1913 Webster]
- The capability in plants of fertilizing or of being fertilized; as, staminate and pistillate flowers are of opposite sexes. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
sex, n., adj., & v.
--n.
1 either of the main divisions (male and female) into which living things are placed on the basis of their reproductive functions.
2 the fact of belonging to one of these.
3 males or females collectively.
4 sexual instincts, desires, etc., or their manifestation.
5 colloq. sexual intercourse.
--adj.
1 of or relating to sex (sex education).
2 arising from a difference or consciousness of sex (sex antagonism; sex urge).
--v.tr.
1 determine the sex of.
2 (as sexed adj.) a having a sexual appetite (highly sexed). b having sexual characteristics.
--n.
1 either of the main divisions (male and female) into which living things are placed on the basis of their reproductive functions.
2 the fact of belonging to one of these.
3 males or females collectively.
4 sexual instincts, desires, etc., or their manifestation.
5 colloq. sexual intercourse.
--adj.
1 of or relating to sex (sex education).
2 arising from a difference or consciousness of sex (sex antagonism; sex urge).
--v.tr.
1 determine the sex of.
2 (as sexed adj.) a having a sexual appetite (highly sexed). b having sexual characteristics.
Idiom
sex act (usu. prec. by the) the (or an) act of sexual intercourse. sex appeal sexual attractiveness. sex change an apparent change of sex by surgical means and hormone treatment. sex chromosome a chromosome concerned in determining the sex of an organism, which in most animals are of two kinds, the X-chromosome and the Y-chromosome. sex hormone a hormone affecting sexual development or behaviour. sex kitten colloq. a young woman who asserts her sex appeal. sex life a person's activity related to sexual instincts. sex-linked Genetics carried on or by a sex chromosome. sex maniac colloq. a person needing or seeking excessive gratification of the sexual instincts. sex object a person regarded mainly in terms of sexual attractiveness. sex-starved lacking sexual gratification. sex symbol a person widely noted for sex appeal.
Derivative
sexer n.
Etymology
ME f. OF sexe or L sexus
THESAURUS
sex
Amor, Christian love, Eros, Platonic love, act of love, admiration, adoration, adultery, affection, agape, amorous, aphrodisia, ardency, ardor, ass, attachment, balling, bodily love, brotherly love, caritas, carnal, carnal knowledge, charity, climax, cohabitation, coition, coitus, coitus interruptus, commerce, congress, conjugal love, connection, copula, copulation, coupling, desire, devotion, diddling, erogenic, erogenous, erotic, erotogenic, faithful love, fancy, fervor, flame, fleshly, fondness, fornication, free love, free-lovism, gamic, heart, hero worship, heterosexual, idolatry, idolism, idolization, intercourse, intimacy, lasciviousness, libidinal, libido, like, liking, love, lovemaking, making it with, marital relations, marriage act, married love, mating, meat, nuptial, onanism, orgasm, oversexed, ovum, pareunia, passion, physical love, popular regard, popularity, potent, procreation, procreative, regard, relations, screwing, sensual, sentiment, sex act, sexed, sexlike, sexual, sexual climax, sexual commerce, sexual congress, sexual intercourse, sexual love, sexual relations, sexual union, sexualize, sexy, shine, sleeping with, sperm, spiritual love, straight, tender feeling, tender passion, truelove, undersexed, uxoriousness, venereal, venery, voluptuous, weakness, worship, yearningROGET THESAURUS
sex
Junction
N junction, joining, joinder, union connection, conjunction, conjugation, annexion, annexation, annexment, astriction, attachment, compagination, vincture, ligation, alligation, accouplement, marriage infibulation, inosculation, symphysis, anastomosis, confluence, communication, concatenation, meeting, reunion, assemblage, coition, copulation, sex, sexual congress, sexual conjunction, sexual intercourse, love-making, joint, joining, juncture, pivot, hinge, articulation, commissure, seam, gore, gusset, suture, stitch, link, miter mortise, closeness, tightness coherence, combination, annexationist, joined, joint, conjoint, conjunct, corporate, compact, hand in hand, firm, fast, close, tight, taut, taught, secure, set, intervolved, inseparable, indissoluble, insecable, severable, jointly, in conjunction with, fast, firmly intimately, tria juncta in uno.Class
N class, division, category, categorema, head, order, section, department, subdepartment, province, domain, kind, sort, genus, species, variety, family, order, kingdom, race, tribe, caste, sept, clan, breed, type, subtype, kit, sect, set, subset, assortment, feather, kidney, suit, range, gender, sex, kin, manner, description, denomination, designation, rubric, character, stamp predicament, indication, particularization, selection, specification, similarity.Sexuality
N sex, sexuality, gender, male, masculinity, maleness, female, femininity, sexual intercourse, copulation, mating, coitus, sex, lovemaking, marital relations, sexual union, sleeping together, carnal knowledge, sex instinct, sex drive, libido, lust, concupiscence, hots, horns, arousal, heat, rut, estrus, oestrus, tumescence, erection, hard-on, boner, masturbation, self-gratification, autoeroticism, onanism, self- abuse, orgasm, climax, ejaculation, sexiness, attractiveness, sensuality, voluptuousness, fornication, adultery, sex symbol, sex goddess, stud, hunk, one-night stand, pornography, porn, porno, hardcore pornography, softcore pornography, pin-up, cheesecake, beefcake, Playboy, Esquire, Hustler, perversion, deviation, sexual abnormality, fetish, fetishism, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, sodomy, buggery, pederasty, sadism, masochism, sado-masochism, incest, sexy, erotic, sexual, carnal, sensual, hot, horny, randy, rutting, passionate, lusty, hot-blooded, libidinous, up, in the mood, homosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, sex, sexuality, gender, male, masculinity, maleness, female, femininity, sexual intercourse, copulation, mating, coitus, sex, lovemaking, marital relations, sexual union, sleeping together, carnal knowledge, sex instinct, sex drive, libido, lust, concupiscence, hots, horns, arousal, heat, rut, estrus, oestrus, tumescence, erection, hard-on, boner, masturbation, self-gratification, autoeroticism, onanism, self- abuse, orgasm, climax, ejaculation, sexiness, attractiveness, sensuality, voluptuousness, fornication, adultery, sex symbol, sex goddess, stud, hunk, one-night stand, pornography, porn, porno, hardcore pornography, softcore pornography, pin-up, cheesecake, beefcake, Playboy, Esquire, Hustler, perversion, deviation, sexual abnormality, fetish, fetishism, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, sodomy, buggery, pederasty, sadism, masochism, sado-masochism, incest, sexy, erotic, sexual, carnal, sensual, hot, horny, randy, rutting, passionate, lusty, hot-blooded, libidinous, up, in the mood, homosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual.For further exploring for "sex" in Webster Dictionary Online