adultery

English

Etymology

From the Old French scholarly form adultere (“violation of conjugal faith”) (in Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons, 12c.), from Latin adulterium, from adulter. Replaced the older form avoutrie, from the popular Old French forms avouterie or aoulterie. Compare French adultère (“adultery”). Displaced Old English ǣwbryċe. Not related to adult.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /əˈdʌltəɹi/
Audio (US) (file)

Noun

adultery (countable and uncountable, plural adulteries)

Sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their spouse.
She engaged in adultery because her spouse has a low libido, while hers is very high.
- 1651, Thomas Hobbes, De Cive
  So also that copulation which in one City is Matrimony, in another will be judged Adultery.
- 2009 Garner's Modern American Usage page 22
  Under modern statutory law, some courts hold that the unmarried participant isn't guilty of adultery (that only the married participant is)
(biblical) Lewdness or unchastity of thought as well as act, as forbidden by the seventh commandment.
(biblical) Faithlessness in religion.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Jeremiah 3:9:
  And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
(obsolete) The fine and penalty formerly imposed for the offence of adultery.
(ecclesiastical) The intrusion of a person into a bishopric during the life of the bishop.
(political economy) Adulteration; corruption.
(obsolete) Injury; degradation; ruin.
- 1616, Ben Jonson, “Mercury Vindicated from the Alchemists”, in Thomas Hodgkin, editor, The Works of Ben Jonson, published 1692, page 378:
  […] you might wrest the Caduceus out of my hand, to the adultery and spoil of Nature […]

Synonyms

advowtry (obsolete)

Hyponyms

the English vice (adultery with domestic trappings)

Derived terms

commit adultery

Related terms

adulter
adulterant
adulterate
adulteration
adulterator
adulterer
adulteress
adulterine
adulterise
adulterous

Translations

sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their spouse

Afrikaans: egbreek, overspel (af)
Arabic: زِنَاء‎ m (zināʾ), زِنىً‎ (ar) m (zinan), خَيَانَة زَوْجِيَّة‎ f (ḵayāna zawjiyya), زِنَا المُحْصَنَيْن‎ (zinā l-muḥṣanayn)
Armenian: դավաճանություն (hy) (davačanutʿyun)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܓܲܝܵܪܘܼܬܵܐ‎ f (gāyaruta), ܙܵܢܝܘܼܬܵܐ‎ f (zanyuta)
Asturian: adulteriu m
Belarusian: пралюбадзе́йства n (praljubadzjéjstva), пералю́б m (pjeraljúb), адзюльтэ́р m (adzjulʹtér) (stilted, literary), шлю́бная здра́да f (šljúbnaja zdráda), шлю́бная няве́рнасць f (šljúbnaja njavjérnascʹ)
Bulgarian: прелюбодея́ние (bg) n (preljubodejánie)
Catalan: adulteri (ca) m
Cherokee: ᎠᏓᏲᏁᎯ (adayonehi)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 通姦／通奸 (zh) (tōngjiān), 奸情 (zh) (jiānqíng), 姦淫／奸淫 (zh) (jiānyín), 私通 (zh) (sītōng), 外遇 (zh) (wàiyù), 不倫之戀／不伦之恋 (búlún-zhī liàn)
Czech: cizoložství (cs) n, manželská nevěra f
Danish: utroskab c
Dutch: overspel (nl) n, echtbreuk (nl) m or f
Esperanto: adulto (eo)
Finnish: aviorikos (fi), huorinteko (fi), huoruus (fi), haureus (fi), uskottomuus (fi)
French: adultère (fr) m
Galician: adulterio (gl) m
Georgian: მრუშობა (mrušoba), ღალატი (ɣalaṭi), სიძვა (siʒva), ადიულტერი (adiulṭeri)
German: Ehebruch (de) m
Gothic: 𐌷𐍉𐍂𐌹𐌽𐌰𐍃𐍃𐌿𐍃 m (hōrinassus)
Greek: μοιχεία (el) f (moicheía)
Ancient: μοιχεία f (moikheía)
Haitian Creole: adiltè
Hebrew: ניאוף \\ נֵאוּף‎ m (ne'úf)
Hungarian: házasságtörés (hu)
Icelandic: hjúskaparbrot (is) n
Ido: adultero (io)
Indonesian: zina (id)
Irish: adhaltranas m
Old Irish: adaltras m
Italian: adulterio (it) m
Japanese: 不倫 (ja) (ふりん, furin), 姦通 (ja) (かんつう, kantsū), 姦淫 (ja) (かんいん, kan'in), .婚外性交 (こんがいせいこう, kongai seikō), 密通 (ja) (みっつう, mittsū), 私通 (ja) (しつう, shitsū)
Korean: 간통(姦通) (ko) (gantong), 불륜(不倫) (bullyun)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: zina (ku) f
Latin: adulterium n
Lithuanian: neištikimybė f
Macedonian: прељуба f (preljuba)
Malay: zina (ms), mukah
Maori: moe pūremu, pūremu, tōkohi, toukohi
Middle Persian: [Book Pahlavi needed] (gʾt' /gād/)
Norwegian: hor n
Bokmål: utroskap m
Occitan: adultèri m
Old English: ǣwbryċe m, unrihthǣmed m
Persian: زنا‎ (fa) (zenâ), پلیدکاری‎ (palidkâri), زنای محصنه‎ (zenâ-ye mohsene), روسپی‌گری‎ (ruspi-gari)
Plautdietsch: Ehebruch m
Polish: cudzołóstwo (pl) n, zdrada małżeńska f
Portuguese: adultério (pt) m
Romagnol: adultéri m
Romanian: adulter (ro) n
Russian: прелюбодея́ние (ru) n (preljubodejánije), адюльте́р (ru) m (adjulʹtér) (stilted, literary), супру́жеская изме́на (ru) f (suprúžeskaja izména), супру́жеская неве́рность f (suprúžeskaja nevérnostʹ)
Scottish Gaelic: adhaltranas m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: браколомство n, прељуба f, прељуб m
Roman: brakolomstvo (sh) n, preljuba (sh) f, preljub (sh) m
Slovak: cudzoložstvo n, manželská nevera f
Slovene: prešuštvo n, zakonolom m
Spanish: adulterio (es) m
Swahili: zinaa
Swedish: hor (sv), äktenskapsbrott (sv) n
Tagalog: pangangalunya; pakikiapid
Telugu: వ్యభిచారము (te) (vyabhicāramu)
Turkish: zina (tr)
Ukrainian: перелю́бство n (pereljúbstvo), адюльте́р (uk) m (adjulʹtér) (stilted, literary), подру́жня зра́да f (podrúžnja zráda), подру́жня неві́рність f (podrúžnja nevírnistʹ)
Uyghur: زىنا‎ (zina)
Uzbek: zino (uz)
Vietnamese: ngoại tình (vi)
Yiddish: נואף‎ m (nief)

lewdness or unchastity of thought as well as act, as forbidden by the seventh commandment

Esperanto: adulto (eo)
Finnish: huorinteko (fi) (1933); aviorikos (fi) (1992)
Japanese: 姦淫 (ja) (かんいん, kan'in)
Romagnol: adultéri m
Russian: прелюбодея́ние (ru) n (preljubodejánije)

faithlessness in religion; as used in Jeremiah 3:9

Finnish: aviorikos (fi) (1933); uskottomuus (fi) (1992)