What does "libertine" mean?
Libertine: (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect of Anabaptists, in the fifteenth and early part of the sixteenth century, who rejected many of the customs and decencies of life, and advocated a community of goods and of women.
Additional senses
- 2.One free from restraint; one who acts according to his impulses and desires; now, specifically, one who gives rein to lust; a rake; a debauchee. Like a puffed and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads. Shak.
- 3.A defamatory name for a freethinker. [Obsoles.]
- 4.Free from restraint; uncontrolled. [Obs.] You are too much libertine. Beau. & Fl.
- 5.Dissolute; licentious; profligate; loose in morals; as, libertine principles or manners. Bacon.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00