Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Sexual Intercourse |
Sexual IntercourseNoun1. The act of sexual procreation between a man and a woman; the man's penis is inserted into the woman's vagina and excited until orgasm and ejaculation occur. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Slang | Nookey, fuck, get laid, boink, diddle, fuck, get it on, rump shaker. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Broadly speaking, the term sexual intercourse may refer to any sexual activities between people, but it is commonly (and in this article) confined to the meaning of coitus or copulation, the insertion of the erect penis of the male into the vagina of the female. Sexual intercourse and masturbation are the two most common human sexual activities, with sexual intercourse being the primary step in procreation or reproduction.
The act
Sexual intercourse is usually preceded by foreplay which leads to sexual arousal of the partners, resulting in erection of the penis and natural lubrication of the vagina. The erect penis is inserted into the vagina and the partners move back and forth to stimulate themselves and each other usually to the point of ejaculation and orgasm. Sexual intercourse may be performed in a wide variety of positions, the most common ones being
- the woman lying on her back, the man on top and facing her ("missionary position")
- the woman on hands and knees, the man kneeling behind her ("doggy style" or in Latin coitus more ferarum "sex in the manner of beasts")
- the man on his back, the woman kneeling or squatting on top (slang "cowgirl")
- both partners lying on their sides, the man entering from behind ("spooning")
Morality and legality
Various laws, moral rules and taboos surround sexual intercourse. See sexual morality for a detailed discussion.
Unlike some other sexual activities, sexual intercourse itself has rarely been made taboo on religious grounds or by government authorities. It is assumed that all of the cultures that entirely prohibited sexual intercourse no longer exist, such as the Shakers, an extinct sect of Christianity. Within some ideologies coitus has been considered the only "acceptable" sexual activity. Relatively strict designations of "appropriate" and "inappropriate" sexual intercourse have been almost universal in human societies. These have included prohibitions against specific positions, against intercourse among partners who are not married (this is called fornication) or are married, but not to each other (called adultery), against incest, and against intercourse during a woman's menstrual period.
Most countries have age of consent laws specifying the minimum legal age for engaging in sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse with a person against their will, or without their informed legal consent, is called rape and is considered a serious crime in most cultures.
Biology
Coitus is the basic reproductive method of Homo sapiens as of all mammals. During ejaculation, which normally accompanies the male orgasm, a series of muscular contractions delivers semen containing male gametes known as sperm cells or spermatozoa into the vault of the vagina. The subsequent route of the semen is from the vault of the vagina, through the cervix and into the uterus, and thence into the fallopian tubes. Semen can survive up to nine days in the female body. When a fertile ovum from the female is present in the fallopian tubes, the male gamete joins with the ovum resulting in fertilization and the formation of a new embryo. When a fertilized ovum reaches the uterus, it becomes implanted in the lining of the uterus known as endometrium and a pregnancy begins.
Sexual intercourse should always be considered likely to result in pregnancy unless adequate contraceptive (birth control) measures are in force. Even then, pregnancy should be considered a possible outcome of the activity since few birth control measures are 100% effective. Coitus interruptus, or "withdrawal" of the penis from the vagina just before the man's orgasm, cannot be considered an effective method of contraception and is not recommended. Outercourse in which there is sexual activity without insertion can be performed without resulting in pregnancy provided that semen does not come in contact with the vulva.
Sexual intercourse, like other sexual activities which involve the possibility of transfer of body fluids, is also a means of propagating sexually transmitted diseases. Health care professionals suggest that condoms should be used to lessen the risk of contracting STDs, but they should by no means be considered an absolute safeguard. The best suggestion is to avoid sexual intercourse with anyone known to have a sexually transmissible disease, and, indeed, with anyone whose disease-negative status is in doubt.
Miscellaneous
The strong profanity to fuck means to copulate but is also used in several other senses.
See also
oral sex, anal intercourse, List of sex positions, pornography, prostitution, reproduction, sexual morality, sexology, Sex toy
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Sexual intercourse."
Synonyms: Sexual IntercourseSynonyms: carnal knowledge (n), coition (n), coitus (n), copulation (n), intercourse (n), relation (n), sex act (n), sexual congress (n), sexual relation (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Junction | Coition, copulation;sex, sexual congress,sexual conjunction, sexual intercourse, love-making. |
Sexuality | Sexual intercourse, copulation, mating, coitus, sex; lovemaking, marital relations, sexual union; sleeping together, carnal knowledge. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Sexual Intercourse |
| Specialty definitions using "sexual intercourse": Dyspareunia ♦ Extramarital Relations ♦ Herpesvirus 2, Human, hit that ♦ indecency with children ♦ rump shaker , rumpshaker , rump-shaker ♦ Sexual Abstinence. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "sexual intercourse": Conjugality. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Sexual intercourse. I've said it like a dozen times (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) | |
Clever | Of the delights of this world man cares most for sexual intercourse, yet he has left it out of his heaven. (references; author: Mark Twain) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | A bag of bottles, syringes, pills, powders, fluids, jellies to make their sexual intercourse safe, odorless, and unproductive |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Cleanse the genital area before sexual intercourse. (references) | |
Take a single dose of an antibiotic after sexual intercourse. (references) | ||
Discomfort during urination or sexual intercourse may also occur. (references) | ||
Children | South Africa | Reports of child rape have increased significantly, as have reports that men are committing rape due to a growing myth that having sexual intercourse with a virgin can cure HIV/AIDS. (references) |
Netherlands | The age of consent is 16. Sexual intercourse with minors under age 12 always constitutes a criminal offense; in cases involving minors between the ages of 12 and 16, an interested party must file a complaint. (references) | |
Austria | According to the Penal Code, sexual intercourse between an adult and a child (under 14 years of age) is punishable with a prison sentence of up to 10 years; in case of pregnancy of the victim, the sentence can be extended to up to 15 years. (references) | |
Women | Yugoslavia | The Criminal Code does not recognize spousal rape as a criminal offense; rape is defined as forced sexual intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married. (references) |
Worker Rights | Armenia | Traffickers may be prosecuted under different articles of the Criminal Code: For example, illicit seizure of non-property documents (passports or other personal documents), as well as use of these documents, may be punished by imprisonment up to 1 year; falsification and selling of documents, by imprisonment up to 5 years; pandering, by imprisonment up to 5 years; bogus marriage and bogus divorce with mercenary ends or other reasons, by imprisonment up to 1 year; extortion (coercion of a person, or coercion by publishing compromising information about a person), by imprisonment from 2 to 4 years; coercing of a woman to perform sexual intercourse by a person on whom this women is financially (or economically) dependent by imprisonment up to 7 years. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
Expressions using "sexual intercourse": engage in sexual intercourse ♦ have sexual intercourse ♦ illicit sexual intercourse. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "sexual intercourse"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Arabic | نكاح (marriage, matrimony, wedlock), علاقات جنسية, جماع جنسي, إتصال جنسي (coition, copulation), رفث (obscenity). (various references) | |
Chinese | 性交 . (various references) | |
Czech | pohlavní styk. (various references) | |
Danish | samleje (coition, coitus, concubitus, sexual union), parring (coition, coitus, conjugation, copulation, covering, matching, mating, pairing, service, serving, sexual union, tupping), kopulation (coition, coitus, conjugation, copulation, pairing, sexual union), kønslig forening (coition, coitus, sexual union), coitus (coitus). (various references) | |
Dutch | geslachtsgemeenschap (coition, coitus, concubitus, copulation, sexual union), geslachtsdaad (copulation), copulatio (coition, coitus, concubitus, copulation, sexual union), copulatie (coition, coitus, concubitus, conjugation, copulation, pairing, sexual union), congressus (coition, coitus, concubitus, sexual union), concubitus (coition, coitus, concubitus, sexual union), coitus (coition, coitus, concubitus, copulation, sexual union), bijslaap (coition, coitus, concubitus, copulation, sexual union). (various references) | |
Esperanto | sekskuniĝi (have sexual intercourse, mate). (various references) | |
Finnish | sukupuoliyhdyntä (coition). (various references) | |
French | relations sexuelles (sexual relations), rapports sexuels (sex, sexual relations), coït (sexual union), acte sexuel (service, serving). (various references) | |
German | Geschlechtsverkehr (coition, intercourse, intimacy, sex), beischlaf (cohabitation). (various references) | |
Greek | συνουσία (coition, copulation, fornication, intercourse). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מש'ל (cohabitation, coition, coitus, intercourse), יחסי מין (intercourse, intimacy), תשמיש "מט" (cohabitation), בעיל" (cohabitation, coitus, marriage bed). (various references) | |
Hungarian | nemi közösülés (carnal knowledge), közösülés (bang, coition, coitus, copulation, coupling, crumpet, ficky-fick, futz, intercourse, mating, niggling). (various references) | |
Indonesian | mengamput (have sexual intercourse). (various references) | |
Italian | rapporti sessuali (intercourse, sex), atto sessuale (sex act). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | おみ籤 (all shook up, chubby person, clog, congratulations, dressing up, flustered, in a dither, lounging about, my goodness!, my!, nervous, not to mention, oh!, oh?, vagina, written oracle), おとぎ話 (bedpan, chamber pot, coweringly, fairy tale, female transvestite, flattery, generally obnoxious middle-aged woman, good luck charm, hesitantly, screw, vagina, virgin), 交接 , 交わり (acquaintance, intersection, relations), 情交 (intimacy), 性交 , セタン価 (cetane number, sedan, sex friend, someone with whom one is not romantically involved but frequently has sexual relations with anyway), '姦 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | おま"" (screw, vagina), おめ" (vagina), まじわり (acquaintance, intersection, relations), せい"う (affection, bull's eye, character and conduct, crude, delicate, elaborate, exquisite, hit, immature, mark, point, steel manufacture, success, unpolished, western suburb), "うせつ (explanation, gossip, public, skill, snow, snowfall, tact, talk about town, workmanship, your opinion), わか" (Japan and China, Japanese-Chinese), セックス , じょう"う (article, clause, getting on and off, going upstream, intimacy, retired emperor, stipulations, upturn). (various references) | |
Manx | jibbag (coition, human copulation, lay, sex), bwoidiaght, bwoideeaght, bwoiddaght. (various references) | |
Norwegian | samleie. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | exualsay intercourseay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | relações sexuais (connection, intercourse, intimacy), acto sexual (covering, mating, service, serving, tupping). (various references) | |
Spanish | relaciones sexuales (love making), coito (coition, coitus, intercourse). (various references) | |
Swedish | samlag (coition, coitus, copulation, it, love making, sex). (various references) | |
Turkish | ilişki (affair, affaire, affinity, bond, commerce, connection, connexion, contact, copulation, corelate, correlate, correlation, daughter, dealing, dealings, gallantry, intercourse, interrelation, involvement, it, liaison, noose, rapport, reference, regard, relation, relationship, relevance, relevancy, truck), cinsel ilişki (act, carnal knowledge, commerce, intimacy, it, screw, sex, sexual act, shot, snatch, trick), cinsel birleşme (coition, coitus, conversation, copulation). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | coetu, coetum, coetus, coetuum, coitu, coitum, coitus, commixtione, commixtionis, concubitu, concubitum, congressione, conplexus, conplexusque, stupris, stupro, stuprum. (various references) |
| Medieval Latin | 700-1500 | veneria. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Misspellings | |
"Sexual Intercourse" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: secual intercourse, sexsual intercourse, sexuall intercourse, sexul intercourse. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-e-e-i-l-n-o-r-r-s-s-t-u-u-x" | |
-3 letters: creatureliness. | |
-5 letters: clearstories, clerestories, executioners, exonucleases, externalises, intercourses, reinoculates, relicensures, sericultures, ultraserious. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Fiction 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Expressions | 9. Expressions: Internet 10. Translations: Modern 11. Translations: Ancient 12. Derivations | 13. Anagrams 14. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
