The act in question is not one often associated with adults, so why is it given that label (and associated stigma)?
The ups and downs of celebrity weddings, as well as the scandalous details that surround them, hold a special fascination for our culture, and this can make us rethink the very language we use to describe our deepest human emotions.
This isn’t People or “Dear Abby,” but maybe we can use our innate fascination as an excuse to explore a linguistic conundrum that’s just as mysterious as the status of marriage: the nuances of “adult” and “adultery.” When two words look so similar, how come they mean completely different things?
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It’s a Combination of Two Terms with Separate Origins
It turns out that these words have no common etymological root. “adult” derives from the Latin adolescere, which means “to grow up, mature.”
However, the word “adultery” comes from a different Latin verb, adulterare, which means “to corrupt.” The Old French word “avoutrie” evolved into the modern English word “adultery.” To debase or make impure by introducing inferior materials or ingredients is the original meaning of the verb adulterate, which shares etymology with the noun.
The “pornographic” meaning of adult developed out of a misguided belief that there is a direct correlation between the term “adult” and adultery.
Exposed: The Two Forms of Adultery
The term “adultery” refers to “voluntary sexual intercourse between a married individual and someone other than his or her lawful spouse,” as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary.
There are in reality two categories of adultery: one involving an unmarried partner, and the other involving two partners (with a married person.) Definition of an adult: having reached one’s full physical potential in terms of height and weight.
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How do these etymological shifts inform our understanding of the links between words and their meanings? That the selection of who to love and honour is the most adult of all may be based on the idea that being an adult means accepting responsibility for one’s actions.
