Where does “lewd” come from?
Lewd comes from Old English lǣwede, originally meaning lay or non-clerical, from which the sense of ignorant or unlearned developed.
lewd (English): Lascivious, sexually promiscuous, rude; Lay; not...
Definitions
- Lascivious, sexually promiscuous, rude; Lay; not...
Ancestry of “lewd”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | lewed | Unrelated to the church; non-priestly; lay;... |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | *laigo- | — |
| 3 | Latin | lāicus | lay (of the laity) |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | λαϊκός | of the people; popular |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | λᾱός | people; men; the people |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | lāwós | people, crowd |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leh₂wos | people |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leh₂- | to bark, howl; to be concealed |