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licentiosus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word licentiosus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 35–96 Quintilian More words from the 1st century
Ultimate origin
Latin licentia
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin licet
Latin licēns
Latin licentia
Latin licentiōsus
English licentious
From the same root
Latin īlicet ← licet
Latin licitus ← licet
Latin scīlicet ← licet
Latin vidēlicet ← licet
Latin licenter ← licēns
Latin licentiō ← licentia

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [lɪ.kɛn.tiˈoː.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [li.t͡ʃen.t͡siˈɔː.s̬us][1]

Forms

licentiōsus (feminine licentiōsa, neuter licentiōsum, comparative licentiōsior, superlative licentiōsissimus); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin licentia + -ōsus.[2][3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's first instance is the comparative in the excerpts of the elder Seneca's Controversiae, of a woman whose dealings with men were no freer than her dress was luxurious.[3][4][5] Quintilian uses it of grammarians who form nominatives on the model of oblique cases, a practice he finds no less arbitrary than other liberties.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word described what is unrestrained, unbridled or wanton, whether in speech, behaviour or fortune:[2][6] Apuleius has unrestrained laughter, wanton embraces and the uncertain fortune of a sale.[2][3] Arnobius and Augustine use it in a moral sense, and Augustine has the superlative licentiosissimus for the free rein given to lust.[3][4] Medieval writers used it for wayward or lawless conduct.[7] English borrowed it in the 1530s as licentious, “morally unrestrained”.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of an arbitrary practice of grammarians.[2][9]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of laughter and embraces.[2][9]
  • 297–310 AD – Arnobius uses it of violence done to matrons.[3][9]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of lust and of licentious boasting.[3][9]
  • 1530s – Borrowed into English as licentious.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Unrestrained, unbridled, free, taking liberties.[2][6]
  2. Wanton, licentious, dissolute.[6][3]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Wayward, lawless.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Licentiosus.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/licentiosus. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·