Where does “celibate” come from?
Celibate comes from French célibat, derived from Latin caelibatus, the noun form of the verb caelibare, which is based on Latin caelebs meaning unmarried.
celibate (English): Not married; Abstaining from sexual relations and...
Definitions
- Not married; Abstaining from sexual relations and...
Ancestry of “celibate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -ate | having the specified thing; characterized by the... |
| 2 | English | -cy | Used to form nouns of state, condition or quality... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | -cie | — |
| 4 | Latin | -tia | office, rank |
| 5 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 6 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |