Fornicate
/ˈfɔːr.nɪ.keɪt/noun
To have sexual intercourse; in architecture, to form an arch or vault.
Did you know?Fornicate comes from Latin fornix, meaning an arch or vault, and by extension a vaulted chamber often associated in Roman slang with prostitutes, which is how the sexual sense developed.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰer-
“to carry or to bear”
Latin
Latin
fornix
“an arch, vault, or vaulted chamber; later slang for a brothel”
Late Latin
Latin
fornicāre
“to arch over; to commit fornication”
Middle English
English
fornicaten
“to commit sexual sin”
Modern English
English
fornicate
“to have sexual intercourse”