sex symbol

See also: Sexsymbol, and sex-symbol

English

Etymology

1871 used in Anthropology, first applied to a person in 1959 (Marilyn Monroe).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

sex symbol (plural sex symbols)

1. A person who embodies the sexual ideals of a mass audience.

   In the 50's and 60's Marilyn Monroe was considered a sex symbol.

Descendants

• → Catalan: sex symbol
• → French: sex-symbol
• → Portuguese: sex symbol
• → Spanish: sex symbol

Translations

person who embodies sexual ideals

• Catalan: sex symbol m or f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 大眾情人／大众情人 (dàzhòng qíngrén)

• Finnish: seksisymboli (fi)
• French: sex-symbol (fr) m, sexe-symbole m
• German: Sexsymbol (de) n
• Irish: réalta ghnéasach
• Latvian: sekssimbols m
• Portuguese: sex symbol (pt) m or f, símbolo sexual (pt) m
• Spanish: símbolo sexual m
• Swedish: sexsymbol (sv) c

Catalan

Alternative forms

• sex-symbol

Etymology

Borrowed from English sex symbol.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˌsɛkˈsim.bul]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˌsɛkˈsim.bol]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˌsekˈsim.bol]

Noun

sex symbol m or f by sense (plural sex symbols)

1. sex symbol (person who embodies sexual ideals)
   • 2020 August 18, Laia Beltran, “24 hores en pijama [24 hours in pajamas]”, in Ara‎^[1]:

     Elles ja no necessitaven enfundar-se en les sensuals camisoles de setí que havien fet de Jean Harlow tot una sex symbol als anys 30 o en els conjunts baby doll que dues dècades més tard va popularitzar Carroll Baker.

     They no longer needed to put on the sensual satin shirts that had made Jean Harlow a total sex symbol in the 30s or in the baby doll ensembles that two decades later popularized Carroll Baker.

Further reading

• “sex-symbol” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sex symbol.

Noun

sex symbol m or f by sense (plural sex symbols)

1. sex symbol (person who embodies sexual ideals)

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sex symbol.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌseɡs ˈsimbol/ [ˌseɣ̞s ˈsĩm.bol]

Noun

sex symbol m or f by sense (plural sex symbols)

1. sex symbol

   Synonym: (adapted) símbolo sexual

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “sex symbol”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28