Chastity
/ˈtʃæs.tə.ti/noun
The state or quality of refraining from sexual activity, or of being pure and restrained in sexual conduct.
Did you know?Chastity comes through Latin from a word family tied to purity and moral cleanliness, which is why it has long carried both spiritual and social power in religious language.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ḱed- / *ḱes-
“A root connected with purity, propriety, or fittingness in later descendants.”
Latin
Latin
castus
“Pure, morally clean, chaste.”
Late Latin
Latin
castitas
“Chastity, purity, moral restraint.”
Old French
Old French
chasteté
“Chastity, purity, virtuous restraint.”
Middle English
English
chastite
“Chastity, virginity, sexual purity.”
Modern English
English
chastity
“The quality of abstaining from sexual relations or of maintaining sexual purity.”