libertine: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for July 13:

libertine \LIB-er-teen\ noun
1 usually disparaging : a freethinker especially in religious matters
*2 : a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality; specifically : one leading a dissolute life

Example sentence:
The writer was portrayed in the film as a libertine who relied heavily on the vices of drinking and gambling.

Did you know?
The word "libertine," which originally meant "freedman" when it appeared in 14th-century English, traces to the Latin "libertus," a term that in Roman antiquity identified a slave who had been set free. By the late 1500s, "libertine" had been extended to religious and secular freethinkers; Shakespeare used it to refer to anyone who follows his or her own inclinations. By 1600, though, the term had come to imply that an individual was a little too unrestrained, especially in moral situations. And yes, the Latin root of "libertine" is "liber," the ultimate source of our word "liberty."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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