Lexic.us

Definition of Fornication

1. Noun. Voluntary sexual intercourse between persons not married to each other.

2. Noun. Extramarital sex that willfully and maliciously interferes with marriage relations. "Adultery is often cited as grounds for divorce"

Definition of Fornication

1. n. Unlawful sexual intercourse on the part of an unmarried person; the act of such illicit sexual intercourse between a man and a woman as does not by law amount to adultery.

Definition of Fornication

1. Noun. sexual intercourse, especially on the part of an unmarried person. ¹

2. Noun. (legal) The act of such illicit sexual intercourse between a man and a woman which does not by law amount to adultery. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Fornication

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Fornication

1. 1. Unlawful sexual intercourse on the part of an unmarried person; the act of such illicit sexual intercourse between a man and a woman as does not by law amount to adultery. In England, the offense, though cognizable in the ecclesiastical courts, was not at common law subject to secular prosecution. In the United States it is indictable in some States at common law, in others only by statute. 2. Adultery. Incest. Idolatry. Origin: F. Fornication, L. Fornicatio. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Fornication

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fornigh

Literary usage of Fornication

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Hand-book of Criminal Law by William Lawrence Clark, Francis Buchanan Tiffany (1902)
"A singlo act of fornication is not a crime at common law, but il made so in ... fornication is not punishable at common law, unless it amounts to public ..."

2. Judicial and Statutory Definitions of Words and Phrases by West Publishing Company (1904)
"Under the act of 1705, an unmarried person having sexual intercourse with another is guilty of fornication only. Commonwealth v. Kilwell (Pa. ..."

3. A Treatise on the Law of Crimes by William Lawrence Clark, William Lawrence Marshall, Herschel Bouton Lazell (1905)
"fornication and Adultery.—fornication and adultery were not common-law crimes in England, nor, by the weight of authority, are they so in this country, ..."

4. Handbook of Criminal Law by William Lawrence Clark, William Ephraim Mikell (1915)
"fornication l20. fornication is voluntary unlawful sexual intercourse, ... A single act of fornication is not a crime at common law, but is made so in some ..."

5. The Harleian Miscellany; Or, A Collection of Scarce, Curious, and by William Oldys, John Malham (1810)
"To think polygamy and fornication lawful; nay, as some have maintained (for there is no stop in wickedness), even adultery too. ..."

6. Lawyers' Reports Annotated by Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company (1916)
"33 On a trial for living together in adultery and fornication, the single state existing first is presumed to continue, and if it has been changed to the ..."

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