genital

[ jen-i-tl ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or noting reproduction.
2. of or relating to the sexual organs.
3. Psychoanalysis.
   1. of or relating to the genital phase of psychosexual development.
   2. of or relating to the centering of sexual impulses and excitation on the genitalia.

genital

/ ˈdʒɛnɪtəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the sexual organs or to reproduction
2. See phallic, oral, anal
   psychoanal relating to the mature stage of psychosexual development in which an affectionate relationship with one's sex partner is established Compare anal oral phallic

Other Words From

• post·geni·tal adjective
• pre·geni·tal adjective
• sub·geni·tal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of genital¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Old French < Latin genitālis of birth, equivalent to genit ( us ), past participle of gignere to beget + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of genital¹

C14: from Latin genitālis concerning birth, from gignere to beget

Example Sentences

Nearly 70 percent of the adult population has been infected by either genital herpes or cold sores by the time they are 25, according to the Herpes Viruses Association cited in the BBC report.

From The Daily Beast

Medical guidelines do not recommend genital surgery for minors.

From Science News For Students

These included the pygophore, or genital capsule, a hardened cup that protects the internal genitalia and is lowered during mating to allow the inflated phallus to slide out.

From Popular-Science

They start talking about an earlier problem the patient had — a genital rash.

From Freakonomics

Loeffler’s proposed legislation is similar to Idaho’s new “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” – a law that could require girls who excel in athletics to “prove their gender” through a genital exam, DNA test or testosterone test.

From No Straight News

Genital mutilation is practiced in various forms across the African continent, from Nigeria to Somalia.

From The Daily Beast

Genital mutilation, for example, is not a just a medical problem but a legal problem.

From The Daily Beast

Those are also the culprits in her other lifelong cause: ending the practice now called Female Genital Mutilation.

From The Daily Beast

Genital duct diaulic, without open seminal groove; male and female apertures contiguous.

From Project Gutenberg

Genital duct always triaulic, and male and female apertures distant from each other.

From Project Gutenberg

Genital organization, therefore, may stand for the unconscious but not for the fore-conscious.

From Project Gutenberg

Genital tuft: in Lepidoptera; an expansible tuft of fine hair believed to be scent-producing.

From Project Gutenberg

Genital, jen′i-tal, adj. belonging to generation or the act of producing.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• carnal
• erotic
• intimate
• passionate
• reproductive
• sensual