Unzucht

Etymology

From Middle High German unzuht (“immorality, vulgarity, rudeness”), from Old High German unzuht, analysable as un- +‎ Zucht. The latter word originally and still sometimes today means “discipline, education, manners”. Unzucht is derived therefrom, but already in early modern German was it often restricted to the contemporary sexual sense. The simplex Zucht only later came to commonly mean “breeding”, with which Unzucht is now secondarily associated (“undue breeding”, as it were).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʊnˌtsʊxt/

Noun

Unzucht f (genitive Unzucht, no plural)

1. (chiefly religion) fornication; adultery; lewdness; promiscuity (any sexual behaviour considered immoral)