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libertin

Etymology and origin of the French word libertin

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1468, Jean Miélot
Borrowed from
Latin libertinus
Ultimate origin
Latin (līberō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin libertus
Latin libertinus
English libertine
French libertin

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /li.bɛʁ.tɛ̃/[1]

Forms

libertin (feminine libertine, masculine plural libertins, feminine plural libertines)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin lībertīnus (“freedman”),[2][3][4][1][5] a derivative of lībertus (“freed”), formed from līberātus, past participle of līberō (“to free”), the source of libérer.[2][3][6] Its special sense comes from the Acts of the Apostles (6:9), which mention a “synagogue of the Libertines”, a Jewish sect whose nature is unknown[2][3][4][7]; Lefèvre d'Étaples translated the word as “libertins”, and when it was applied to religious sects, notably at Geneva, it was associated with liberté.[2][3][4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean Miélot's translation of Cicero (1468) uses it in Roman law for a freedman.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century libertins were the members of the Jewish sect of the Acts (1525), of a heretical sect of northern France and the Low Countries (1542), and of the party that opposed Calvin at Geneva (1544).[2][3] From there (before 1555) a libertin was someone who threw off religion, a freethinker, at first as an insult.[2][3] The adjective (1568) first meant “independent, hating constraint”, and then “undisciplined”.[2][3][7]

In the 17th century the libertine became less a speculative unbeliever than a practical Epicurean given to debauchery (1625[3][2][8]; Molière 1662), and in the 18th century a literary type, from Crébillon to Laclos.[3][2][8] Libertinage (1603) followed the same course.[4]

Timeline

  • 1468 – A freedman, in Roman law (Miélot).[2][3]
  • 1525 – Members of a Jewish sect (Lefèvre d'Étaples).[2][4]
  • 1544 – Opponents of Calvin at Geneva.[2][3]
  • before 1555 – A freethinker.[2][3]
  • 1568 – Adjective, “independent”.[2][3]
  • 1603 – Libertinage.[4]
  • 1625 – Given to debauchery.[3][8]
  • 1662 – Dissolute (Molière, L'École des femmes).[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Given to the pleasures of the flesh; libertine, dissolute.[8][1]
  2. (literary, dated) Freethinking, irreligious.[8][7]

Noun

  1. A libertine, a rake[8][1]; (history) a freethinker of the 17th century.[8][1]
  2. (Roman history) A freedman.[2][8]

Word family

  • libertinage

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 305a
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Libertin.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/libertin. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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