copulate

[ verb kop-yuh-leyt; adjective kop-yuh-lit ]

/ verb ˈkɒp yəˌleɪt; adjective ˈkɒp yə lɪt /

verb (used without object), cop·u·lat·ed, cop·u·lat·ing.

to engage in sexual intercourse.

adjective

connected; joined.

Nearby words

Origin of copulate

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin cōpulātus bound together. See copula, -ate¹

Related formscop·u·la·to·ry

[kop-yuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈkɒp yə ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for copulatory

The last pair of thoracic limbs are usually modified in the male into copulatory organs.
The Appendages, Anatomy, and Relationships of Trilobites|Percy Edward Raymond
And also for the copulatory organs which also become more and more female.
The Organism as a Whole|Jacques Loeb
It lodges the copulatory organ, and on its dorsal wall lies the bursa Fabricii, an organ peculiar to birds.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7|Various
Similarly, the male requires the stimulus of a meal of rat's blood before it displays any copulatory activity.
Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley

When trapped two days later, she had a copulatory plug, and 21 days after this she was found with a newborn litter in a trap.
Aspects of Reproduction and Development in the Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster)|Henry S. Fitch

British Dictionary definitions for copulatory

copulate

/ (ˈkɒpjʊˌleɪt) /

verb

(intr) to perform sexual intercourse

Derived Formscopulation, nouncopulatory, adjective

Word Origin for copulate

C17: from Latin copulāre to join together; see copula

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for copulatory

copulate

early 15c., "to join," from Latin copulatus, past participle of copulare "join together, couple, bind, link, unite," from copula "band, tie, link," from PIE *ko-ap-, from *ko(m)- "together" + *ap- "to take, reach." Sexual sense attested from 1630s. Related: Copulated; copulating.

Medicine definitions for copulatory

copulate

[ kŏp′yə-lāt′ ]

v.

To engage in coitus or sexual intercourse.