libertine
English
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)
- (historical) Someone freed from slavery in Ancient Rome; a freedman.
Noun
libertine (plural libertines)
- 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
- See also Thesaurus:libertine
Translations
one who is freethinking in religious matters
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Adjective
libertine (comparative more libertine, superlative most libertine)
- Dissolute, licentious, profligate; loose in morals.
Related terms
Further reading
- libertine in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- libertine in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
French
Latin
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