celibacy

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin caelibatus (“celibacy, a single life”), perfect passive participle of caelibare, from caelebs (“unmarried”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɛləbəsi/

Noun

celibacy (countable and uncountable, plural celibacies)

  1. Abstaining from marriage; the state of being unmarried.
  2. (by extension) Abstaining from sexual relations.

Synonyms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

See also

Further reading

  • celibacy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • celibacy in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
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