LIBERTINES

Noun

libertines

plural of libertine

Source: Wiktionary


LIBERTINE

Lib"er*tine, n. Etym: [L. libertinus freedman, from libertus one made free, fr. liber free: cf. F. libertin. See Liberal.]

1. (Rom. Antiq.)

Definition: A manumitted slave; a freedman; also, the son of a freedman.

2. (Eccl. Hist.)

Definition: One of a sect of Anabaptists, in the fifteenth and early part of the sixteenth century, who rejected many of the customs and decencies of life, and advocated a community of goods and of women.

3. One free from restraint; one who acts according to his impulses and desires; now, specifically, one who gives rein to lust; a rake; a debauchee. Like a puffed and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads. Shak.

4. A defamatory name for a freethinker. [Obsoles.]

Lib"er*tine, a. Etym: [L. libertinus of a freedman: cf. F. libertin. See Libertine, n. ]

1. Free from restraint; uncontrolled. [Obs.] You are too much libertine. Beau. & Fl.

2. Dissolute; licentious; profligate; loose in morals; as, libertine principles or manners. Bacon.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

26 April 2025

PYROELECTRICITY

(noun) generation of an electric charge on certain crystals (such as tourmaline) as a result of a change in temperature


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

coffee icon