libertine

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪb.ə.tiːn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪb.ɚ.tin/

Etymology 1

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.

Noun

libertine (plural libertines)

1. (historical) Someone freed from slavery in Ancient Rome; a freedman.

Etymology 2

From French libertin

Noun

libertine (plural libertines)

1. One who is freethinking in religious matters.
2. 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.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:libertine

Related terms

• liberate
• liberal
• liberty

Adjective

libertine (comparative more libertine, superlative most libertine)

1. Dissolute, licentious, profligate; loose in morals.

Related terms

• libertinism
• libertinage

Further reading

• libertine in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• libertine in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

---

French

Adjective

libertine

1. feminine singular of libertin

---

Latin

Adjective

lībertīne

1. vocative masculine singular of lībertīnus