homosexual

Definition

Sexually and/or romantically attracted to members of the same sex, such as a man who is attracted to men or a woman who is attracted to women; gay. (Typically used in the sense of sole/exclusive attraction.)

Etymology

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. Equivalent to homo- + -sexual.

Example Sentences

• "No, it wouldn't make a difference if the applicant was homosexual."
• "[H]e said he had never noticed anything homosexual in himself."
• ""Significant results indicate that Swedes would choose a more masculine partner the more homosexual they are, and that Finns would choose a more attractive partner the more homosexual they are.""

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