fornicate

¹ American  

[fawr-ni-keyt] / ˈfɔr nɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used without object)

fornicated, fornicating

1. to have sexual intercourse with someone to whom one is not married.

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fornicate ² American  

[fawr-ni-kit, -keyt] / ˈfɔr nɪ kɪt, -ˌkeɪt /

Also fornicated

adjective

Biology.

1. arched or vaulted in form.

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fornicate ¹ British  

/ ˈfɔːnɪˌkeɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to indulge in or commit fornication

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fornicate ² British  

/ -ˌkeɪt, ˈfɔːnɪkɪt /

adjective

1. biology arched or hoodlike in form

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Other Word Forms

• fornicator
  noun

Etymology

Origin of fornicate¹

First recorded in 1545–55; from Late Latin fornicātus “consorted,” past participle of fornicārī “to consort with prostitutes,” from Latin fornix “basement, brothel,” also “arch, vault”; cf. fornicate ²

Origin of fornicate²

First recorded in 1820–30; from Latin fornicātus, from fornix “arch, vault,” also “basement, brothel”; cf. fornicate ¹

Example Sentences

Corolla short, usually with more or less fornicate throat.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa