Etymology

venereal

ve·ne·re·al
V4E1N1E1R1E1A1L1

Today it means: Of or relating to the genitals or sexual intercourse. Full definition →

Middle English venereal ← Latin venereus ← Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wenh₁-“to love”
  2. Latin · derived fromvenereus
  3. Middle English · inherited fromvenereal
  4. English todayvenereal

From Middle English venereal, venerealle (“of or relating to sexual intercourse”), from Latin venereus, venerius (“of or relating to sexual love”), from Venus (“Roman goddess of love”) (from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to love”)) + -eus, -ius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns).

Words from the same roots

Latinvenereus all →

venereous

Proto-Indo-European*wenh₁- all →

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Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.