Libertine
/ˈlɪb.ər.taɪn/noun
A person who behaves without moral restraint, especially in sexual matters; historically, a freethinker or one who rejects accepted social norms.
Did you know?The word entered English through French and Latin as a term tied to freedom, then evolved into a label for people seen as dangerously unrestrained, showing how “liberty” can darken into social suspicion.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leudh-
“to grow, be free; people of the people”
Latin
Latin
līber
“free, not a slave”
Latin
Latin
lībertinus
“a freedman; one born of a freed parent”
Old French
OF
libertin
“a freedman; later, a freethinker or irreligious person”
16th Century
English
libertine
“a freethinker; a person who rejects religious or moral authority”
Modern English
English
libertine
“a person who lives without moral restraint, especially in sexual matters”