Communication or dealings between people or groups; in modern usage often refers to sexual relations.
From Latin 'intercursus' (running between), combining 'inter-' (between) and 'cursus' (running/course). Originally meant any exchange or interaction; the sexual meaning became prominent only in the 1900s.
Intercourse' used to be totally wholesome—diplomats and merchants had 'commercial intercourse,' meaning trade relationships—but the word gradually narrowed to its intimate meaning until the original sense felt embarrassingly formal.
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