different between libertine vs lecherous

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?l?b.?.ti?n/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?l?b.?.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 Thesaurus:libertine

Related terms

• liberate
• liberal
• liberty

Translations

Adjective

libertine (comparative more libertine, superlative most libertine)

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

Related terms

• libertinism
• libertinage

Translations

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.

Anagrams

• berlinite

French

Adjective

libertine

1. feminine singular of libertin

Italian

Noun

libertine f

1. plural of libertina

Latin

Adjective

l?bert?ne

1. vocative masculine singular of l?bert?nus

English

Etymology

From Middle English lecherous, licherous, from Old French *lecherous (attested in Old French lecherousement (“lecherously”)), from Old French lecherie, licherie (“gluttony, sensuality, lewdness, lechery”), from Old French lecher, lechier, lekier, lescher (“to lick, live in gluttony or sensuality”), from Old Frankish *lekk?n (“to lick”), from Proto-Germanic *likk?n? (“to lick”), from Proto-Indo-European *ley??- (“to lick”), equivalent to lecher +? -ous. More at lick.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?t????s/

Adjective

lecherous (comparative more lecherous, superlative most lecherous)

1. Given to excessive sexual activity and debauchery.

Derived terms

• lecherously
• lecherousness

Translations