927: randy Jun 23, 2017

English has a myriad of words that denote to sex itself—either for actual description or sometimes for swearing and other purposes—but there is another group of words that only relate to sex, and these two groups are often not so dissimilar. With words like 'sodomy' or 'orgy' that denote sexual acts, for example, the original meaning of these terms etymologically did not relate to sex at all, but eventually took on the meaning because of—in this case—the Catholic Church. Other words as well also often first connoted something bad or immoral in a general way, but then were later applied to things relating to sex because of popular opinions. Likewise, with the word 'randy', which does not denote sex itself but does relate to it tangentially is thought to have come from a word meaning 'to rant' but eventually gained its modern connotation from another association to someone who would 'rand' as it were. Moreover, in Scots, the word 'randy' used to describe a rude person, but eventually took on the sole the sense of 'aroused'.