Sexism is prejudice against people because of their sex. Everyday sexism, casual sexism, institutional sexism.
The word was coined in the 1960s on the model of racism, which is why it is so much younger than what it describes. Casual sexism is the phrase for the small remarks nobody quite objects to at the time.
1nounsexismPrejudice against people because of their sex.
“She complained about the sexism of managers who only gave the best jobs to men.”
sexism is a prejudice.
Proto-Indo-European
*sek-
Latin
sexus
Old French
sexe
Middle English
sexe
English
sex
English, today
sexism
Built from
From sex + -ism. sex comes from Middle English sexe, from Old French sexe, from Latin sexus. From Middle English sexe (“sex [distinction between male and female] and gender”), from Old French sexe (“genitals; gender”), from Latin sexus (“gender; gender traits; males or females; genitals”), from Proto-Italic seksus, from Proto-Indo-European séksus, from sek- (“to cut, cut off, sever”), thus meaning "section, division" (into male and female). Displaced native Old English hād (“sex, gender”). Usage for women influenced by Middle French sexe (“women”) (attested in 1580). Usage for third and additional sexes calqued from French troisième sexe, referring to masculine women in 1817 and homosexuals in 1847. First used by Lord Byron and others in English in reference to Catholic clergy. Usage for sexual intercourse first attested in 1899 (in the writings of H. G. Wells).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA