sexus, ūs (abl. plur. sexibus, Spart. Hadr. 18, 10 al.; but sexubus, Jul. Val. Rer. G. Alex. 1, 36), m., or sĕcus, indecl. n. [root sec- of seco; hence properly, a division, segment].
I A sex , male or female (of men and beasts).
α Form sexus: hominum genus et in sexu consideratur, virile an muliebre sit, Cic. Inv. 1, 24, 35; cf.: natus ambiguo inter marem ac feminam sexu infans, Liv. 27, 11; and: mare et femineum sexus, App de Mundo, c. 20, p. 66 med. : feminarum sexus, Plin. 7, 52, 53, § 175: virilis sexus, Pac. ap. Fest. p. 334 Müll. (Trag. Rel. p. 70 Rib.); Plin. 10, 55, 76, § 154 orbus virili sexu, Afran. ap. Fest. l. l. (Com. Rel. p. 166 Rib.): liberi sexūs virilis, Suet. Aug. 101; Front. Strat. 1, 11, 6: puberes virilis sexūs, Liv. 26, 34: tres (liberi) sexūs feminini, Suet. Calig. 7; cf. Plin. 27, 2, 2, § 4; cf.: juvenes utriusque sexūs, Suet. Aug. 31: liberi, id. ib. 100; id. Vit. 6; id. Tib. 43: sine ullo sexūs discrimine, id. Calig. 8; Tac. A. 16, 10 fin. et saep.— Plur. : (συνεζευγμένον) jungit et diversos sexus, ut cum marem feminamque filios dicimus, Quint. 9, 3, 63: lavacra pro sexibus separavit, Spart. Hadr. 18 fin. —
β Form secus (in the poets and historians, in the latter usually virile or muliebre secus, as an acc. resp. or limiting accusative, equivalent to the genitive or ablative of quality; v. Zumpt, Lat. Gram. § 428, for the preceding virilis sexūs, the male sex ): filiolam ego unam habui, Virile secus numquam ullum habui, Plaut. Rud. 1, 2, 19: virile secus, Asell. ap. Gell. 2, 13, 5: quod ejus virile secus futurum est, Varr. ib. 3, 10, 7: secus muliebre, Aus. Idyll. 11, 8: puerile, id. Epigr. 70, 6: virile ac muliebre secus populi multitudo, Sisenn. ap. Non. 222, 27: concurrentium undique virile et muliebre secus, Sall. H. Fragm. ib. 25; and in Macr. S. 2, 9 (p. 228 Gerl.): ut Philippi statuae ... item majorum ejus virile ac muliebre secus omnium tollerentur, Liv. 31, 44, 4: multitudinem obsessorum omnis aetatis, virile ac muliebre secus, Tac. H. 5, 13: praedas hominum virile et muliebre secus agebant, Amm. 29, 6, 8 et saep.: liberorum capitum virile secus ad decem milia capta, Liv. 26, 47, 1: athletarum spectaculo muliebre secus omnes adeo summovit, ut, etc., Suet. Aug. 44 fin. : destinatum Lacedaemoniis omnes virile secus interficere, Front. Strat. 1, 11, 6.—Rarely as nom. : affluxere avidi talium ... virile ac muliebre secus, omnis aetas, Tac. A. 4, 62: tres ordine partae, Vesta, Ceres et Juno, secus muliebre, sorores, Aus. Idyll. 11, 7; or as object of a verb: cur ex his unum secus virile designet, Arn. 1, 59; 5, 25: promiscue virile et muliebre secus trucidabant, Amm. 16, 11, 9; 27, 10, 2.—
II Transf.
A A sex , of plants and minerals, Plin. 13, 4, 7, § 31; 12, 14, 32, § 61; 36, 16, 25, § 128; 36, 21, 39, § 149.—
B The sexual organs , Plin. 22, 8, 9, § 20; Lact. 1, 21, 16.