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definitions

lascivious

[ luh-siv-ee-uh s ]
/ ləˈsɪv i əs /
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lascivious ON THESAURUS.COM

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

debauchery, lust, lustfulness, prurience, lewdness

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
British Dictionary definitions for lasciviousness

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 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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper