Sexts

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A form of digital communication involving sending sexually explicit messages or images
2. the act of composing and sharing such content, typically via mobile devices
3. a trend fueled by technological advances allowing intimate sharing in private conversations

Etymology: "Sexts" is the plural of "sext," which is a blend of "sex" and "text." The word needed a name for sexually explicit messages sent by phone, and two everyday words were fused to supply one. The verb "to sext" came later, formed backward from the noun. "Sexting" is the older form, and the verb was built from it. The blend is recent, so its parts tell the story more than any ancient root does. "Text" in this sense is the short message sent between phones, and "sex" supplies the explicit content, so the new word simply packs both ideas into a single syllable. Readers sometimes meet "sext" alongside "siesta," and the connection is real but unrelated to the modern sense. Both descend from Latin "sexta," meaning "sixth" or "sixth hour," which is why "siesta" once named the midday rest and "sext" was a canonical hour of prayer. The two words are doublets, meaning they arrived in English by different routes from the same source.

Synonyms: text messages, messages, texts, digital messages, photographs