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Webster 1913 Edition

Lewd

Lewd

(lūd)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Lewder
(-ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Lewdest
.]
[
OE
.
lewed
,
lewd
, lay, ignorant, vile, AS.
lǣwed
laical, belonging to the laity.]
1.
Not clerical; laic; laical; hence, unlearned; simple.
[Obs.]
For if a priest be foul, on whom we trust,
No wonder is a
lewed
man to rust.
Chaucer.
So these great clerks their little wisdom show
To mock the
lewd
, as learn’d in this as they.
Sir. J. Davies.
2.
Belonging to the lower classes, or the rabble; idle and lawless; bad; vicious.
[Archaic]
Chaucer.
But the Jews, which believed not, . . . took unto them certain
lewd
fellows of the baser sort, . . . and assaulted the house of Jason.
Acts xvii. 5.
Too
lewd
to work, and ready for any kind of mischief.
Southey.
3.
Given to the promiscuous indulgence of lust; dissolute; lustful; libidinous.
Dryden.
4.
Suiting, or proceeding from, lustfulness; involving unlawful sexual desire;
as,
lewd
thoughts, conduct, or language
.
–
Lewd′ly
,
adv.
–
Lewd′ness
,
Noun.

Webster 1828 Edition

Lewd

LEWD

,
Adj.
[Heb.]
1.
Given to the unlawful indulgence of lust; addicted to fornication or adultery; dissolute; lustful; libidinous.
Ezek. 23.
2.
Proceeding from unlawful lust; as lewd actions.
3.
Wicked; vile; profligate; licentious. Acts 27.

LEWD

,
Adj.
[L. gnes, from geno.] Lay; laical; not clerical. Obs.

Definition 2024

lewd

lewd

English

Adjective

lewd ‎(comparative lewder, superlative lewdest)

  1. Lascivious, sexually promiscuous, rude.
  2. (obsolete) Lay; not clerical.
    • Sir J. Davies
      So these great clerks their little wisdom show / To mock the lewd, as learn'd in this as they.
  3. (obsolete) Uneducated.
  4. (obsolete) Vulgar, common; typical of the lower orders.
    • Bible, Acts xvii. 5.
      But the Jews, which believed not, […] took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, […] and assaulted the house of Jason.
    • Southey
      Too lewd to work, and ready for any kind of mischief.
  5. (obsolete) Base, vile, reprehensible.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English leud, leued, lewed ‎(“unlearned, lay, lascivious”), from Old English lǣwede ‎(“unlearned, ignorant, lay”), of obscure origin; most likely a derivative of the past participle of lǣwan ‎(“to reveal, betray”) in the sense of "exposed as being unlearned" or "easily betrayed, clueless", from Proto-Germanic *lēwijaną ‎(“to betray”), from Proto-Germanic *lēwą ‎(“an opportunity, cause”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēw- ‎(“to leave”). Cognate with Old High German gilāen, firlāen ‎(“to betray”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌾𐌰𐌽 ‎(galēwjan, “to give over, betray”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐍅 ‎(lēw), 𐌻𐌴𐍅𐌰 ‎(lēwa, “an opportunity, cause”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ljuːd/
  • (US) IPA(key): /lud/
  • enPR: lo͞od
  • Rhymes: -uːd

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