English
celibacy
Celibacy comes from Latin caelibātus ‘celibacy, a single life’, and goes back to caelebs ‘unmarried’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaelebs‘unmarried’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaelibātus‘celibacy, a single life’
- Englishearliest quotation 1920celibacy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaelebs‘unmarried’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaelibātus‘celibacy, a single life’
- Englishearliest quotation 1920celibacy
Earliest quotation: 1920, American Lutheran Survey: “They came to believe that men, who would live…”
Equivalent to celibate + -acy
Every English word from Latin caelebs
Today it means
noun Abstaining from marriage; the state of being unmarried.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin caelebs / celibacy