lascivious
[luh-siv-ee-uh s]
- 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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Origin of lascivious
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
lascivious
- lustful; lecherous
- exciting sexual desire
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Word Origin
C15: from Late Latin lascīviōsus, from Latin lascīvia wantonness, from lascīvus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for lasciviousness
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper