definitions

copulation

[ kop-yuh-ley-shuh n ]
/ ˌkɒp yəˈleɪ ʃən /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR copulation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

sexual intercourse.
a joining together or coupling.

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RELATED WORDS

intercourse, procreation, coupling, fornication, lovemaking, intimacy, sex, relations, mating, nooky, coition

Nearby words

coptic, coptic church, copts, copula, copulate, copulation, copulative, copulative asyndeton, copulatory, copy, copy desk

Origin of copulation

1350–1400; Middle English copulacion < Latin cōpulātiōn- (stem of copulātio) a binding together. See copulate, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for copulation

Word Origin and History for copulation

copulation

n.

late 14c., "coupling," from Middle French copulation "mating, copulation" (14c.), from Latin copulationem (nominative copulatio), noun of action from past participle stem of copulare (see copulate). Of the sex act from late 15c., and this became the main sense from 16c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for copulation

copulation

[ kŏp′yə-lā′shən ]

n.

Conjugation between two cells that do not fuse but separate after mutual fertilization.
coitus
Related formscop′u•late′ v.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.