Asexuals

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who do not experience sexual attraction towards others and may or may not engage in romantic relationships ; people characterized by a lack of sexual interest or desire in any gender or person ; a group identified by the absence of sexual attraction as a dimension of their personal orientation
2. Persons who do not feel sexual attraction or desire, which can include various expressions of emotional or romantic connection without sexual involvement ; those who identify by having no sexual feelings towards others and can have diverse romantic preferences ; a demographic defined by the lack of sexual motivation while varying in relational or intimacy desires
3. Human beings who inherently lack sexual attraction to others and may express romance without sexuality ; those whose orientation excludes sexual desire and often focus on emotional, platonic, or romantic bonds instead ; a collective term for people who experience little to no sexual interest but maintain personal and social relationships in other ways

Etymology: The plural "asexuals" simply counts people who fit the adjective "asexual", so its history is the history of that adjective. The Greek prefix "a-" meant "without" or "lacking", and it was attached to "sexual", which comes from Latin "sexualis", itself built on "sexus" (sex). Put together, "asexual" meant "lacking sex" or "without sex" before it came to describe a person's orientation. The compound is a plain piece of English word-building rather than a single inventor's coinage, and its source notes it as a piecewise doublet of "unsexual", a near-synonym formed from the same parts in a different order. The prefix "a-" and the suffix "-sexual" are both productive, so English speakers could assemble the word from familiar pieces without borrowing it whole.

Synonyms: nonsexuals, celibates

Antonyms: sexuals