different between debauch vs debauchery

English

Alternative forms

• debosh

Etymology

1590s, from Middle French desbaucher (“entice from work or duty”), from Old French desbauchier (“to lead astray”), from des- + bauch (“beam”), from Frankish *balko, from Proto-Germanic *balkô, from Proto-Indo-European *bhelg- (“beam, plank”); latter origin of balk.

Evolution of sense unclear; may be literally “to shave/trim wood to make a beam” or may be “to leave/lure someone from a workshop”, Frankish *balko perhaps also meaning “workshop”.

Possible corruption by way of Anglicised French term bord (“edge, kerb”): kerb crawling as a synonym for prostitution. Parallels in modern German: Bordsteinschwalbe (“prostitute”, literally “Kerb-stone-swallow or kerb-bird”). English words bawd, bawdiness may be similarly connected.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??b??t??/
• Rhymes: -??t?

Noun

debauch (plural debauches)

1. An individual act of debauchery.
2. An orgy.

Translations

Verb

debauch (third-person singular simple present debauches, present participle debauching, simple past and past participle debauched)

1. (transitive) To morally corrupt (someone); to seduce.
2. (transitive) To debase (something); to lower the value of (something).
3. (intransitive) To indulge in revelry.

Translations

Derived terms

Related terms

• balk

References

English

Etymology

From debauch +? -ery, 1640s.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??b??.t???.?i/

Noun

debauchery (countable and uncountable, plural debaucheries)

1. Indulgence in sensual pleasures; scandalous activities involving sex, alcohol, or drugs without inhibition.
2. (archaic) Seduction from duty.

Synonyms

• licentiousness

Related terms

• debauch
• debauchee
• debaucher
• debaucherous
• debauched

Translations

See also

• hedonism

References

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: Tenth Edition (1997)
• WordNet 3.0 (Princeton University); “debauchery” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.