intercourse (English)

Where does "intercourse" come from?

The English verb 'intercourse' derives from the Old French 'entrecours', which comes from the Late Latin 'intercursus'[1]. The Latin form itself functions as the perfect passive participle of 'intercurrō'[2], a verb formed by combining the prefix 'inter-' with the verb 'curro'[3].

Full etymology tree

• intercourse (English), 'To have sexual intercourse.'
  • borrowed entrecours (Old French)
    • derived intercursus (Latin), 'mingled with, having mingled with'
      • derived intercurro (Latin), 'to run between, or along with'

Ancestors

• *ḱers- (Proto-Indo-European)
• intercursus (Latin)

Sources

1. intercourse (English) - Wiktionary
2. intercursus (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. intercurro (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris