English
lewdness
Lewdness comes from Middle English lewednesse ‘a deficiency or absence of knowledge’, from lewed ‘Unschooled, not learned or educated’, and ultimately from Old English lǣwede ‘lay’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣwede‘lay’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lewed‘Unschooled, not learned or educated’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500lewednesse‘a deficiency or absence of knowledge’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611lewdness
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣwede‘lay’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lewed‘Unschooled, not learned or educated’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500lewednesse‘a deficiency or absence of knowledge’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611lewdness
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdnesse of thy…”
Formed from lewd + -ness
Old English lǣwede ‘unlearned, ignorant, lay’
Middle English lewed ‘unlearned, lay, lascivious’
English lewd
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leh₂w- ‘military action’
through Proto-Hellenic *lāwós ‘people, crowd’
through Ancient Greek λᾱός ‘people’
through Late Latin laicus ‘of the people’
Today it means
noun The quality, state or instance of being lewd; promiscuous.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English lǣwede / lewdness