Dictionary

know someone in the biblical sense en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˌnoʊ ˌsʌmwən ɪn ðə ˈbɪblɪkəl ˌsɛn(t)s/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From the use of know in the Bible. Some Bible translations, such as the King James Version, translate the Hebrew word יָדַע (yādaʿ) as know even in sexual contexts, giving rise to lines like “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived.”

Meanings

1. (euphemistic, idiomatic) To have sex with someone.
   • It only stood to reason that a woman who knew Him in a Biblical sense would have to be His bride. 2007, Tom LaMarr, Hallelujah City, →ISBN, page 46:
   • Paul says there are still those who knew him, in the Biblical sense, living on the West Coast — that he was "trade" for "everybody." 1995, Lyle Leverich, Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams, →ISBN, page 456:
   • As for Modigliani he is not a painter I know so I don't know if he knew Bianca in the biblical sense or not. 1980, William Wiser, Disappearances, →ISBN, page 90:
   • James may not have known women in the biblical sense; but had Adams read the novels with care, he would have been agreeably surprised by the keen insights on the feminine psyche displayed there. 1969, Ronald M. Meldrum, “Three of Henry James's Dark Ladies”, in Research Studies, volume 37, page 54:

Forms

Deriveds

in the biblical sense

Relateds

carnal knowledge

Synonyms

know · lie with · go in unto

Translations (4)

fr connaitre au sens biblique du terme (To have sex with someone.) · fr connaitre bibliquement (To have sex with someone.) · fr connaître au sens biblique du terme (To have sex with someone.) · fr connaître bibliquement (To have sex with someone.)