lewd

English

Etymology

From Middle English lewed, lewd, leued (“unlearned, lay, lascivious”), from Old English lǣwede (“unlearned, ignorant, lay”), of obscure origin; most likely a derivative of the past participle of lǣwan (“to reveal, betray”) in the sense of "exposed as being unlearned" or "easily betrayed, clueless", from Proto-Germanic *lēwijaną (“to betray”), from *lēwą (“an opportunity, cause”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēw- (“to leave”). Cognate with Old High German gilāen, firlāen (“to betray”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 (galēwjan, “to give over, betray”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐍅 (lēw, “an opportunity, cause”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ljuːd/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• IPA^(key): /lud/
• enPR: lo͞od

• Rhymes: -uːd

• Homophone: leud

Adjective

lewd (comparative lewder, superlative lewdest)

1. Lascivious, sexually promiscuous, rude.
   • 2014 August 11, w:Dave Itzkoff, "Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Comedian, Dies at 63 in Suspected Suicide," New York Times

     Onstage he was known for ricochet riffs on politics, social issues and cultural matters both high and low; tales of drug and alcohol abuse; lewd commentaries on relations between the sexes; and lightning-like improvisations on anything an audience member might toss at him.

2. (obsolete) Lay; not clerical.
   • (Can we date this quote by Sir J. Davies and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     So these great clerks their little wisdom show / To mock the lewd, as learn'd in this as they.

3. (obsolete) Uneducated.
4. (obsolete) Vulgar, common; typical of the lower orders.
   • Bible, Acts xvii. 5.

     But the Jews, which believed not, […] took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, […] and assaulted the house of Jason.

   • (Can we date this quote by Southey and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Too lewd to work, and ready for any kind of mischief.

5. (obsolete) Base, vile, reprehensible.

Derived terms

• lewdsby
• lewdness
• lewdster

Translations

lascivious

• Arabic: فَاسِق (fāsiq), دَاعِر (dāʕir), شَهْوَانِيّ (šahwāniyy), شَبِق (šabiq), غَلِم (ḡalim)
• Catalan: lasciu (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 好色 (zh) (hàosè), 淫蕩／淫荡 (zh) (yíndàng), 淫荡 (zh) (yíndàng)

• Dutch: liederlijk (nl)
• Finnish: irstas (fi), rietas
• French: lascif (fr) m, lascive (fr) f, lubrique (fr), paillard (fr) m, grivois (fr) m
• Galician: lascivo m, burdallo m, godalleiro m, lúbrico m, luxurioso m
• German: lüstern (de), lasziv (de)
• Greek: πρόστυχος (el) (próstychos), ασελγής (el) (aselgís)
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Irish: graosta
• Italian: lascivo (it)
• Japanese: 助け平 (sukebei), 嫌らしい (iyarashii), エッチ (ja) (etchi)
• Lakota: šikšíl
• Maori: tīweka, karihika
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Persian: لچر (fa) (lačar), هرزه (fa) (harze)
• Polish: sprośny (pl)
• Portuguese: lascivo (pt), indecente (pt)
• Romanian: lasciv (ro) m, indecent (ro) m
• Russian: похотли́вый (ru) (poxotlívyj), развра́тный (ru) (razvrátnyj), блудли́вый (ru) (bludlívyj), распу́щенный (ru) (raspúščennyj), распу́тный (ru) (raspútnyj), сладостра́стный (ru) (sladostrástnyj), похабный (ru) m (poxabnyj)
• Scots: roch
• Scottish Gaelic: mì-gheanmnaidh, drabasta
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: prȍsto (sh), ràzvratno (sh), lascivno (sh), blȗdno (sh), rȁzuzdāno (sh) (euphemism)

• Spanish: lascivo (es)
• Swedish: liderlig (sv), vällustig, oanständig (sv), obscen (sv)
• Tagalog: malaswa (tl)
• Turkish: ayıp (tr)
• Ukrainian: хти́вий (uk) (xtývyj)

Verb

lewd (third-person singular simple present lewds, present participle lewding, simple past and past participle lewded)

1. To get high on quaalude.
   • 1968, Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test:

     Babbs, after many days of glumming in his Purina Chow redoubt, strolls over, lewding out, “Hi, Je-e-e-ed!” to Kesey's three-year-old son.

   • 1973, Yardbird Reader - Volumes 1-3, page 186:

     I was just lewding around, fucking furiously, drinking and doping and daring the devil.

   • 1996, Exquisite Corpse - Issues 56-61, page 54:

     Once lewded-out. I sampled the bourbon, then somebody suggested I take five more hits.

2. To express lust; to behave in a lewd manner.
   • 2011, Cooper, The Queen's Assassin, page 189:

     "Well then,” dropping her bathrobe, lewding her lips, “how 'bout some lovee?”

   • 2016, George Saoulidis, The Girl Who Twisted Fate's Arm:

     Now, the men could just have been watching the unusual APC running on the road, or just lewding at the women.

   • 2019, Aldious Waite, Grape Juice Enlightenment: Immortal Mind, page 14:

     Each one lusting and lewding themselves - fighting against the spirit of change.

Anagrams

• Weld, weld

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Middle English

Adjective

lewd

1. Alternative form of lewed