intercourse (English)
Where does "intercourse" come from?
The word 'intercourse' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*ḱers-', meaning 'to run.' It evolved into the Late Latin 'intercursus,' a term for mingling or running between things, before passing through Old French as 'entrecours.' While it originally described general social interaction or communication, its usage gradually shifted over time to focus specifically on the sexual meaning recognized today.
Full etymology tree
- intercourse (English), 'To have sexual intercourse.'
- borrowed entrecours (Old French)
- inherited intercursus (Latin), 'mingled with, having mingled with'
- deverbal intercurrō (Latin), 'to run between, or along with'
- compound inter- (Latin), 'inter-, between, in between, among, together'
- compound currō (Latin), 'to run'
- inherited *ḱers- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to run'
- deverbal intercurrō (Latin), 'to run between, or along with'
- inherited intercursus (Latin), 'mingled with, having mingled with'
- borrowed entrecours (Old French)
Direct ancestors
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris