incest

American  

[in-sest] / ˈɪn sɛst /

noun

1. sexual intercourse between closely related persons.

2. the crime of sexual intercourse, cohabitation, or marriage between persons within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity wherein marriage is legally forbidden.

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incest British  

/ ˈɪnsɛst /

noun

1. sexual intercourse between two persons commonly regarded as too closely related to marry

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incest Cultural  

1. Sexual relations between relatives who are forbidden by law to marry; for example, between father and daughter or mother and son.

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Discover More

Though each society has its own system for determining the range of people who fall into this category, every society has an incest taboo of some sort.

Etymology

Origin of incest

1175–1225; Middle English < Latin incestus (noun) sexual impurity, derivative of incestus (adj.) profane, sexually impure ( in- in- ³ + -cestus combining form of castus chaste ), by analogy with v. nouns derived with -tus

Example Sentences

Patrilocality is believed to have been an attempt to avoid incest by trading potential mates with other groups.

From Scientific American

“It wasn’t too different for Western audiences. Also, this theme of revenge and incest is familiar in both the East and the West from older classics, for instance the Bible or Greek mythology.”

From Los Angeles Times

Obviously, when I say romance, I don't mean incest, I just mean almost mythical and ethereal and so deeply emotional that they're connected.

From Salon

As such, those interested in breeding healthier canines can vote with their dollars and avoid buying dogs who were deliberately bred through incest, in order to discourage breeders who practice inbreeding.

From Salon

“The Passenger” is about a lot of things: salvage diving, incest, the nuclear bomb, lost cats, paranoia and the higher realms of mathematics.

From New York Times