Meanings
- archaicuncountablelawSexual intercourse.
to have carnal knowledge of someone
2 more examples
to knock a woman, to have carnal knowledge of her
1785, [Francis Grose], “Knock”, in A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, London: […] S[amuel] Hooper, […], →OCLCThe legal definition of rape, is the carnal knowledge of a woman by force, and against her will. The carnal knowledge of a child, under ten years of age, with or without her consent, is considered rape.
1836, Michael Ryan, A Manual of Medical Jurisprudence, 2nd edition, London: Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper, page 309
Synonyms & antonyms
nounsexual activity between individuals, especially the insertion of a man's penis into a woman's vagina until orgasm and ejaculation occur
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian полово сношение
- полово сношение (polovo snošenie)archaic term for sexual intercourse
Chinese Mandarin 性交
- 性交 (xìngjiāo)archaic term for sexual intercourse
Dutch gemeenschap
- gemeenschaparchaic term for sexual intercourse
Finnish lihallinen yhteys
- lihallinen yhteysarchaic term for sexual intercourse
German Beiwohnung
- Beiwohnungarchaic term for sexual intercourse
Irish fios collaí
- fios collaíarchaic term for sexual intercourse
Italian domestichezza, rapporto carnale
- domestichezzaarchaic term for sexual intercourse
- rapporto carnalearchaic term for sexual intercourse
Spanish ayuntamiento carnal, trato carnal
- ayuntamiento carnalarchaic term for sexual intercourse
- trato carnalarchaic term for sexual intercourse
Cite this entry
carnal knowledge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carnal%20knowledge
“carnal knowledge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carnal%20knowledge. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “carnal knowledge,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carnal%20knowledge.
Source: carnal knowledge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.