Prude
/pruːd/noun
A person regarded as excessively modest, proper, or concerned with sexual morality.
Did you know?In medieval French, prude was originally the feminine form of prud, meaning “wise” or “virtuous,” before English narrowed it into a judgment about excessive modesty.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weyd-
“To see, know, or perceive—the ancient root behind ideas of wisdom and foresight.”
Classical Latin
Latin
prūdēns
“Foreseeing, prudent, wise; traditionally understood as a contraction of prōvidēns, “foreseeing.””
9th–12th Century
Old French
prud
“Wise, good, virtuous, or morally respectable.”
12th–15th Century
French
prude
“The feminine form of prud, describing a wise or virtuous woman.”
17th Century
English
prude
“A woman considered excessively proper or rigid in matters of morality.”
18th Century–Modern English
English
prude
“A person perceived as overly modest, puritanical, or sexually inhibited.”
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