Etymology Map
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Lewd

3 stages from Old English to English.

Today it means crude and offensive in a sexual way

Where does the word "lewd" come from? It comes from Old English lǣwede, passing through Middle English before entering English (1500s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
lǣwede
Old English · medieval
"lay, unlearned"
'lay, not of the clergy', perhaps from Latin laicus 'lay'
2
Stage 2 of 3
lewed
Middle English · 1300s
"ignorant, common"
'ignorant, common'; Chaucer's Parson reasons that 'if a preest be foul, on whom we truste, no wonder is a lewed man to ruste'
3
Stage 3 of 3
lewd
English · 1500s
"crude and offensive"
sank through 'vile, base' to 'lustful, obscene'
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Read the full story

Lewd’s story begins in Old English: lǣwede meant “lay, unlearned.” 'lay, not of the clergy', perhaps from Latin laicus 'lay'. By 1300s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as lewed. 'ignorant, common'; Chaucer's Parson reasons that 'if a preest be foul, on whom we truste, no wonder is a lewed man to ruste'. It reached English by 1500s as lewd. Sank through 'vile, base' to 'lustful, obscene'. Today, lewd means crude and offensive in a sexual way.