Celibate Definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CELIBATE, n. A single life; celibacy; chiefly used when speaking of the single life of the Popish clergy.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: abstaining from sexual intercourse; "celibate priests" [syn: celibate, continent] n
1: an unmarried person who has taken a religious vow of chastity

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Latin caelibatus, from caelib-, caelebs unmarried Date: 1680 a person who lives in celibacy • celibate adjective

English Explanatory Dictionary

sel n. 1 a small room, esp. in a prison or monastery. 2 asmall compartment, e.g. in a honeycomb. 3 a small group as a nucleus ofpolitical activity, esp. of a subversive kind. 4 hist. a small monastery ornunnery dependent on a larger one. 5 Biol. a the structural and functionalusu. microscopic unit of an organism, consisting of cytoplasm and a nucleusenclosed in a membrane. b an enclosed cavity in an organism etc. 6 Electr. avessel for containing electrodes within an electrolyte for current-generationor electrolysis. øøcelled adj. (also in comb.). [ME f. OF celle or f. Lcella storeroom etc.]

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 committed to abstention from sexual relations and from marriage, esp. for religious reasons. 2 abstaining from sexual relations. --n. a celibate person. Derivatives: celibacy n. Etymology: F célibat or L caelibatus unmarried state f. caelebs -ibis unmarried

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Celibate Cel"i*bate, n. [L. aelibatus, fr. caelebs unmarried, single.] 1. Celibate state; celibacy. [Obs.] He . . . preferreth holy celibate before the estate of marrige. --Jer. Taylor. 2. One who is unmarried, esp. a bachelor, or one bound by vows not to marry.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Celibate Cel"i*bate, a. Unmarried; single; as, a celibate state.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(celibates) 1. Someone who is celibate does not marry or have sex, because of their religious beliefs. The Pope bluntly told the world's priests yesterday to stay celibate. ADJ • A celibate is someone who is celibate. N-COUNT 2. Someone who is celibate does not have sex during a particular period of their life. I was celibate for two years. ADJ: usu v-link ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Bachelor, unmarried man. II. a. Unmarried, single.

Moby Thesaurus

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