libertine
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Latin libertinus (“a freedman, prop. adj., of or belonging to the condition of a freedman”), from libertus (“a freedman”), from liber (“free”); see liberal, liberate.
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
libertine (plural libertines)
- (historical) Someone freed from slavery in Ancient Rome; a freedman.
- One who is freethinking in religious matters.
- Someone (especially a man) who takes no notice of moral laws, especially those involving sexual propriety; someone loose in morals; a pleasure-seeker.
- 2007, Choderlos de Laclos, Dangerous Liaisons, tr. Helen Constantine, Penguin 2007, p. 123,
- So the truth of the matter is that a libertine in love, if indeed a libertine can be in love, becomes from that moment in less of a hurry to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh.
- 2007, Choderlos de Laclos, Dangerous Liaisons, tr. Helen Constantine, Penguin 2007, p. 123,
Synonyms [edit]
- See also Wikisaurus:libertine
Related terms [edit]
Adjective [edit]
libertine (comparative more libertine, superlative most libertine)
- Dissolute, licentious, profligate; loose in morals.
Related terms [edit]
External links [edit]
- libertine in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- libertine in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
French [edit]
Adjective [edit]
libertine
- feminine form of libertin
Latin [edit]
Adjective [edit]
lībērtīne
- vocative masculine singular of lībērtīnus
