Lewd
/luːd/noun
Sexually crude, obscene, or morally unrestrained.
Did you know?In Middle English, lewd could mean “ignorant” or “unlearned,” before gradually shifting toward “base,” “vulgar,” and finally sexually obscene.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-West Germanic
PWGmc
*laiwīdī
“Lay or secular status; the condition of being outside the clergy”
Old English
Old English
lǣwede
“Lay, secular, or unlearned”
12th Century
Middle English
lewed
“Uneducated, ignorant, or lacking formal learning”
13th–14th Century
Middle English
lewed
“Base, vulgar, or morally crude”
16th Century
English
lewd
“Sexually immoral or indecent”
Modern English
English
lewd
“Sexually crude, obscene, or lascivious”