Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Sexual intercourse between people who are not married to each other, especially when considered as a sin.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An arching; the forming of a vault or convexity; a hollowing, vaulting, or arching over; a cameration.
  • noun The state of being fornicated or vaulted.
  • noun The act of illicit sexual intercourse on the part of an unmarried person with a person of the opposite sex, whether married or unmarried.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Unlawful sexual intercourse on the part of an unmarried person; the act of such illicit sexual intercourse between a man and a woman as does not by law amount to adultery.
  • noun Adultery.
  • noun Incest.
  • noun Idolatry.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun sexual intercourse, especially on the part of an unmarried person.
  • noun law The act of such illicit sexual intercourse between a man and a woman which does not by law amount to adultery.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun voluntary sexual intercourse between persons not married to each other
  • noun extramarital sex that willfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Coined between 1300 and 1350 Middle English fornicacioun from Late Latin fornicātiōn- (s. of fornicātiō).

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Examples

Comments

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  • consensual sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other -- compare ADULTERY

    September 13, 2007