Homosex

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. Sexual relations or intimacy between people of the same sex, often referred to as same-sex activity
2. Physical or romantic intimacy that takes place between two people who share the same gender
3. The sexual conduct or relations occurring between individuals of one sex toward another of that same sex

Etymology: "Homosex" is a plain compound: "homo-", from Greek "homos" meaning "same," joined to "sex." Its first element is the same prefix found in "homogeneous" and "homonym," and the word as a whole is built the same way as "homosexual," a term whose elements are identical but whose second half adds the adjectival suffix "-al." The word appears in English in the 20th century, and it functions both as a noun for a person and as an adjective describing same-sex relations. Because it is a straightforward combination of a Greek-derived prefix and a Latin-derived noun, there is little to unravel beyond the meaning of its parts: a relationship between people of the same sex.