celibate

English

Alternative forms

• cælibate (archaic)

Etymology

From Latin caelibatus, perfect passive participle of caelibare, from caelebs (“unmarried”).

Adjective

celibate (not comparable)

1. Not married.
2. (by extension) Abstaining from sexual relations and pleasures.

   Members of religious communities sometimes take vows to remain celibate.

Synonyms

• (not married): unmarried, single
• (abstaining from sex): abstinent, chaste, pure

Derived terms

• celibately

Translations

unmarried

• Armenian: չամուսնացած (hy) (čamusnac’aç), ամուրի (hy) (amuri)
• Bulgarian: неженен (bg) (neženen)
• Catalan: celibat (ca)
• Czech: svobodný m, celibátní, žijící v celibátu, (woman without husband): nevdaná, (man without wife): neženatý
• Dutch: celibatair (nl), ongehuwd (nl)
• Esperanto: fraŭlo (eo)
• German: ehelos (de), unverheiratet (de), keusch (de), (religion) zölibatär (de), sexuell enthaltsam (de)
• Greek: άγαμος (el) (ágamos)
• Hungarian: nőtlen (hu), hajadon (hu)

• Ido: celiba
• Interlingua: celibe, celibatario
• Irish: aontumhach (ga), gan phósadh (ga)
• Italian: celibe (it)
• Latin: caelibatus (la)
• Polish: nieżonaty (pl) m, niezamężna (pl) f
• Portuguese: celibatário (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: aontamhach (gd)
• Slovak: celibát (sk) m
• Spanish: celibe (es)

Noun

celibate (plural celibates)

1. One who is not married, especially one who has taken a religious vow not to get married, usually because of being a member of a religious community.
2. (obsolete) A celibate state; celibacy.
   • Jeremy Taylor

     He […] preferreth holy celibate before the estate of marrige.

Translations

person who is not married

• Armenian: ամուրի (hy) (amuri)
• Bulgarian: ерген (bg) (ergen) m
• Czech: osoba žijící v celibátu
• German: Unverheirateter (de) m, Unverheiratete (de) f, Junggeselle (de) m, Junggesellin (de) f, (religion) Zölibatär (de) m, Zölibatärin (de) f

• Greek: άγαμος (el) (ágamos) m
• Hungarian: nőtlen (hu), agglegény (hu), hajadon (hu)
• Irish: aontumhach (ga) m, duine gan phósadh (ga) m
• Polish: osoba żyjąca w celibacie
• Portuguese: celibatário (pt)

Related terms

• celibacy

See also

• friar
• monk

Anagrams

• cable tie
• citeable