sexting

English

Etymology

Blend of sex +‎ texting.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛkstɪŋ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

sexting (usually uncountable, plural sextings)

1. The act of transmitting and/or receiving sexually suggestive text messages and/or photographs between cell phones equipped with text messaging.
   • 2009 August 6, Annalisa Barbieri, “You don't know what sexting is?”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     There are already concerns that young people are unaware of the serious legal implications that sexting can have.

   • 2018, Zizi Papacharissi, editor, A Networked Self and Love‎^[3], Routledge, →ISBN:

     But perhaps the most critical question in this area of research concerns the effect of sexting on relationship quality. Does sexting benefit or harm relationships?

Verb

sexting

1. present participle and gerund of sext

Usage notes

The verb to sext is most often used in the form sexting.

Coordinate terms

• textual harassment
• textual intercourse

Translations

sending sexually explicit text messages or photographs between cell phones

• French: textopornographie (fr) f, sexting (fr) m, sexto (fr) m
• Greek: σέξτινγκ (el) (séxtingk)
• Japanese: セクスティング (sekusutingu)
• Spanish: sexteo m, sexting (es) m
• Vietnamese: chat (vi) sex (vi)

References

• “sexting”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sexting.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɡstin/ [ˈseɣ̞s.t̪ĩn]
• Rhymes: -eɡstin
• Syllabification: sex‧ting

Noun

sexting m (uncountable)

1. sexting

   Synonym: sexteo

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

• “sexting”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28