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lewd

[lood]
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adjective, lewd·er, lewd·est.
  1. inclined to, characterized by, or inciting to lust or lechery; lascivious.
  2. obscene or indecent, as language or songs; salacious.
  3. Obsolete.
    1. low, ignorant, or vulgar.
    2. base, vile, or wicked, especially of a person.
    3. 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
Related formslewd·ly, adverblewd·ness, noun
Can be confusedlewd obscene pornographic profanatory profane
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lewdly

Historical Examples

  • (Lewdly) The mouth can be better engaged than with a cylinder of rank weed.

    Ulysses

    James Joyce

  • Concerning Philip that she was lewdly transported with the loue of one Th.

    Witch Stories

    E. Lynn (Elizabeth Lynn) Linton

  • He drained his glass noisily while his eyes remained upon the pretty buckskin-clad figure that so lewdly attracted him.

    The Heart of Unaga

    Ridgwell Cullum

  • If that man should be lewdly given, he deceiveth me; for, Henry, I see virtue in his looks.

    Old and New London

    Walter Thornbury

British Dictionary definitions for lewdly

lewd

adjective
  1. characterized by or intended to excite crude sexual desire; obscene
  2. obsolete
    1. wicked
    2. ignorant
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Derived Formslewdly, adverblewdness, noun

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lewdly

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