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celibacy

UK/ˈsɛləbəsi/US/ˈsɛləbəsi/
nounC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #8,896 of 15,258neutral

Celibacy is the state of living without sex or marriage. A vow of celibacy, clerical celibacy, choose celibacy.

Strictly it means not marrying and in practice it means abstaining from sex, and the two senses have never quite separated. Clerical celibacy has been required of Latin Church priests since about the twelfth century and is not required in Orthodox or most Protestant traditions. Note celibate; and the distinction from asexuality, which is an orientation rather than a choice.

Definitions of celibacy

  1. 1nouncelibacyThe state of living without sex or marriage.C1

    “Catholic priests take a vow of celibacy.”

celibacy is a state of abstinence.

Where it comes from

Latin caelibatus comes from caelebs, unmarried, of uncertain earlier origin. The word is about marriage rather than sex, which the English use has quietly changed.

  1. Latin

    caelibātus — celibacy, a single life

  2. English, today

    celibacy

Built from

  • caelebs · Latin — unmarried

From Latin caelibātus (“celibacy, a single life”), from caelebs (“unmarried”). by surface analysis, celib(ate) + -acy.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

celibacy in the wild

  • Jainism, on the other hand, preached complete celibacy even for young monks and considered celibacy to be an essential behavior to attain moksha.

    Celibacy

  • A somewhat similar situation existed in Japan, where the Shinto tradition also opposed celibacy.

    Celibacy

  • In some contexts, for example when making a vow of chastity, chastity means celibacy.

    Chastity

  • Vows of celibacy are generally required for monks and nuns in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and other religions, but often not for other clergy.

    Clerical celibacy

  • Within the Catholic Church, clerical celibacy is mandated for all clergy in the Latin Church except in the permanent diaconate.

    Clerical celibacy

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.