libertine

 
Pronunciation: /ˈlɪbətiːn, -tɪn, -tʌɪn/

noun

  • 1a person, especially a man, who freely indulges in sensual pleasures without regard to moral principles: his image as an unbridled libertine is a total myth
  • 2a freethinker in matters of religion.

adjective

  • 1characterized by free indulgence in sensual pleasures: his more libertine impulses
  • 2freethinking.

Derivatives

libertinage

noun

libertinism

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (denoting a freed slave or the son of one): from Latin libertinus 'freedman', from liber 'free'. In the mid 16th century, imitating French libertin, the term denoted a member of any of various antinomian sects in France; hence libertine (sense 2 of the noun)