Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “heterosexual” come from?

Hetero- comes from Ancient Greek ἕτερος, meaning "other" or "different," from Proto-Hellenic hə́teros.

heterosexual (English): Sexually attracted to members of the opposite...

Definitions

  1. Sexually attracted to members of the opposite...

Ancestry of “heterosexual”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-sexualForms a noun or adjective describing a state or...
2EnglishsexualArising from the fact of being male or female;...
3Latinsexuālis—
4Latinsexusdivision; sex; gender
5Proto-Italicseksus—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanséksus—
7Proto-Indo-Europeansek-to cut, cut off, sever

Words derived from “heterosexual”

  • heterosexuality
  • hetero
  • heterosexually
  • heterosexualization
  • nonheterosexuality
  • heterosexualism
  • heterosexualize
  • hetro
  • heterosexualist
  • anti-heterosexual
  • monoheterosexual
  • heterosexualness
  • non-heterosexual
  • heterofriendly
  • heterochlamydeous
  • הטרוסקסואלי
  • הטרוסקסואליות
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sek- →