libido

[ li-bee-doh ]

/ lɪˈbi doʊ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR libido ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural li·bi·dos.

Psychoanalysis. all of the instinctual energies and desires that are derived from the id.

sexual instinct or sexual drive.

RELATED WORDS

lust, sexuality, eroticism, passion

Nearby words

liberum veto, libeskind, libia, libidinal, libidinous, libido, libman-sacks endocarditis, libor , libra, librarian, librarianship

Origin of libido

1890–95; < Latin libīdō desire, willfulness, lust, akin to libēre to be pleasing

Related formsli·bid·i·nal

[li-bid-n-l] /lɪˈbɪd n l/, adjectiveli·bid·i·nal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for libido

Libido can perhaps be described as "effect," or "capacity for effect."
Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology|C. G. Jung
Libido effrenata effrenatam appetentiam efficit—Unbridled gratification produces unbridled desire.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood
Libido is what earlier psychologists called "will" or "tendency."
Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology|C. G. Jung
Libido: Life-force, élan vital, or (restricted) the energy of the sex-instinct.
Outwitting Our Nerves|Josephine A. Jackson and Helen M. Salisbury

Libido is intended to be an energising expression for psychological values.
Collected Papers on Analytical Psychology|C. G. Jung

British Dictionary definitions for libido

libido

/ (lɪˈbiːdəʊ) /

noun plural -dos

psychoanal psychic energy emanating from the id

sexual urge or desire

Derived Formslibidinal (lɪˈbɪdɪnəl), adjectivelibidinally, adverb

Word Origin for libido

C20 (in psychoanalysis): from Latin: desire

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 libido

libido

"psychic drive or energy, usually associated with sexual instinct," 1892, carried over untranslated in English edition of Krafft-Ebing's "Psychopathia Sexualis"; and used in 1909 in A.A. Brill's translation of Freud's "Selected Papers on Hysteria" (Freud's use of the term led to its popularity); from Latin libido "desire, lust," from libere "to be pleasing, to please," ultimately cognate with Old English lufu (see love (n.)).

Medicine definitions for libido

libido

[ lĭ-bē′dō, -bī′- ]

n. pl. li•bi•dos

The psychic and emotional energy associated with instinctual biological drives.

Sexual desire.

Manifestation of the sexual drive.

Culture definitions for libido

libido

[ (luh-bee-doh) ]

In Freudian psychology, the energy associated with the desires that come from the id.

Note

Libido is loosely used to mean sexual desire.