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definitions

lascivious

[ luh-siv-ee-uh s ]
/ ləˈsɪv i əs /
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adjective

inclined to lustfulness; wanton; lewd: a lascivious, girl-chasing old man.
arousing sexual desire: lascivious photographs.
indicating sexual interest or expressive of lust or lewdness: a lascivious gesture.

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RELATED WORDS

salacious, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, prurient, lewd, X-rated, bawdy, blue, bodily, carnal, coarse, crude, evil-minded, fast, fleshly, gross, hard-core, hot, immoral

Nearby words

  1. lasagne,
  2. lasalle,
  3. lascar,
  4. lascaux,
  5. lascaux cave,
  6. lasdun,
  7. lase,
  8. laser,
  9. laser beam,
  10. laser card

Origin of lascivious

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin lascīvi(a) playfulness, wantonness (lascīv(us) playful, wanton + -ia -ia) + -ous
Related forms
Can be confusedlascivious licentious
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lascivious

British Dictionary definitions for lascivious

lascivious

/ (ləˈsɪvɪəs) /

adjective

lustful; lecherous
exciting sexual desire
Derived Formslasciviously, adverblasciviousness, noun

Word Origin for lascivious

C15: from Late Latin lascīviōsus, from Latin lascīvia wantonness, from lascīvus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for lascivious

lascivious

adj.

mid-15c., from Middle French lascivieux or directly from Late Latin lasciviosus (used in a scolding sense by Isidore and other early Church writers), from Latin lascivia "lewdness, playfulness, frolicsomeness, jolity," from lascivus "lewd, playful, frolicsome, wanton," from PIE *las-ko-, from *las- "to be eager, wanton, or unruly" (cf. Sanskrit -lasati "yearns," lasati "plays, frolics," Hittite ilaliya- "to desire, covet," Greek laste "harlot," Old Church Slavonic laska "flattery," Slovak laska "love," Old Irish lainn "greedy," Gothic lustus, Old English lust "lust"). Related: Lasciviously; lasciviousness. In 17c. also with a verbal form, lasciviate.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper