Sexualis

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to or characterized by the act of reproducing or engaging in intimate physical relationships between individuals
2. Relating to the biological and physiological processes that influence reproduction and interpersonal attraction
3. Concerned with the aspects of human behavior and experience that involve intimacy and the act of sexual reproduction

Etymology: "Sexualis" is the Medieval Latin adjective from "sexus," meaning "sex," which in classical Latin referred to the division of living things into male and female. The root behind "sexus" is uncertain, though it is often linked to the Latin verb "secare," "to cut," as if the sexes were a division. Scholars treat that connection as a possibility rather than a settled fact. The English adjective "sexual" arrived from this Latin base, and it originally carried the plain sense of relating to the two sexes or to reproduction, not the intimate or erotic connotations it often has today. Those later senses developed gradually, and the broader modern meaning grew out of the older, more clinical use.

Synonyms: sexual

Antonyms: asexual, nonsexual