Some animals have complex mating rituals before they copulate.
the time of year when deer in the wild are likely to copulate
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Religious leaders specified days on which, for medical or liturgical reasons, married couples were not to copulate—one Irish rule book from the early seventh century excluded a good two-thirds of the year.—S. C. Cornell, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025 Once the toxin took effect, males mounted the females and copulated for between 40 and 75 minutes, without the risk of being gobbled up.—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Mar. 2025 On his shirt, little hippos copulated against a pastel-blue cotton background.—airmail.news, 7 Dec. 2024 Advertisement The lawsuit alleges Harris comforted the boy and during the encounter began forcibly orally copulating the teen.—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for copulate
Word History
Etymology
Latin copulatus, past participle of copulare to join, from copula — see copula
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