English
homosexual
Homosexual comes from German homosexual ‘dated form of homosexuell’, from sexual ‘relating to sex or sexuality’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut, cut off, sever’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-1‘to cut, cut off, sever’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékh₁yeti1uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekaō1‘to cut’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecō1‘to cut, cut off’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecāre1uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsexus1‘division’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsexuālis1‘sexual’
- Germanc. 1650–presentsexual1‘relating to sex or sexuality’
- Germanc. 1650–presenthomosexual1‘dated form of homosexuell’
- Englishearliest quotation 1892homosexual1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English homosexual
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, 1889, Charles Gilbert Chaddock: “[H]e said he had never noticed anything homosexual in…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-Wiktionary, English homosexual‘to cut, cut off, sever’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sékh₁yetiWiktionary, English homosexualuncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sekaōWiktionary, English homosexual‘to cut’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecōWiktionary, English homosexual‘to cut, cut off’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsecāreWiktionary, English homosexualuncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsexusWiktionary, English homosexual‘division’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsexuālisWiktionary, English homosexual‘sexual’
- Germanc. 1650–presentsexualWiktionary, English homosexual‘relating to sex or sexuality’
- Germanc. 1650–presenthomosexualWiktionary, English homosexual‘dated form of homosexuell’
- Englishearliest quotation 1892homosexualWiktionary, English homosexual. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, 1889, Charles Gilbert Chaddock: “[H]e said he had never noticed anything homosexual in…”
The story
Borrowed from German homosexual, from homo- (‘same’) + sexual (‘relating to sex or sexuality’), coined by Karl Maria Kertbeny in 1868, and popularized in Richard von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis (2nd ed. 1887, in German) and Charles Gilbert Chaddock's 1892 English translation thereof (compare bisexual), displacing the slightly older term Uranian.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sek- ‘to cut, cut off, sever’
saw, design, sign, ship, sack, seal, scarlet, sawyer, sax, shingle, scythe, sich, sigil, desiccation, sedge, sain, desiccant, 60 more
through Proto-Italic *sekaō ‘to cut’
through Latin secō ‘to cut, cut off’
risk, section, segment, insect, sickle, dissect, brassica, seg, 20 more
through Latin sexus ‘division’
through Latin sexuālis ‘sexual’
Today it means
adj Sexually and/or romantically attracted to members of the same sex, such as a man who is attracted to other men or a woman who is attracted to other women; gay. (Typically used in the sense of sole/exclusive attraction.)
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “homosexual”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sek- / homosexual