lewd
[lood]
- inclined to, characterized by, or inciting to lust or lechery; lascivious.
- obscene or indecent, as language or songs; salacious.
- Obsolete.
- low, ignorant, or vulgar.
- base, vile, or wicked, especially of a person.
- bad, worthless, or poor, especially of a thing.
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Origin of lewd
before 900; Middle English leud, lewed, Old English lǣwede lay, unlearned
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
naughty, salacious, pornographic, ribald, off-color, erotic, obscene, racy, lascivious, suggestive, coarse, vile, bawdy, X-rated, blue, fast, filthy, gross, hard-core, immodestExamples from the Web for lewd
Contemporary Examples
One interpretation suggests he is the embodiment of whisky, a lewd allusion to a tenured tradition of Scottish alcoholism.
He was arrested the same day on felony charges of forcible rape, lewd acts on a minor, and kidnapping to commit a sexual offense.
Elementary School in Los Angeles, has so far been charged with 15 counts of sexual abuse and lewd acts on a child.
The trial brought accusations of lewd rabble-rousing and rampant sexism at corporate events—bad publicity to say the least.
Did the ‘Best in Show’ actor commit a “lewd act” in a seedy Hollywood theater known for such cinematic fare as ‘Nut Busters’?
Historical Examples
They see everywhere, even in the most innocent objects, the most lewd allusions.
The Sexual QuestionAugust Forel
All lewd women are diseased some of the time and some lewd women are diseased all of the time.
I felt some pricks of shame at this lewd reference to my father.
Athelstane FordAllen Upward
Their humour was obscene and he was never at a loss for the lewd remark.
The Trembling of a LeafWilliam Somerset Maugham
"Yea; mockers and scorners are Godwin and his lewd sons," answered the monk.
Harold, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
lewd
- characterized by or intended to excite crude sexual desire; obscene
- obsolete
- wicked
- ignorant
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Word Origin
C14: from Old English lǣwde lay, ignorant; see lay ³
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for lewd
adj.
Old English læwede "nonclerical," of uncertain origin but probably ultimately from Vulgar Latin *laigo-, from Latin laicus (see lay (adj.)). Sense of "unlettered, uneducated" (early 13c.) descended to "coarse, vile, lustful" by late 14c. Related: Lewdly; lewdness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper