wanton
wan·ton
noun
lewd or lascivious woman
adjective
occurring without motivation or provocation
- “motiveless malignity”
- “unprovoked and dastardly attack” F.D.Roosevelt
casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior
- “her easy virtue”
- “he was told to avoid loose (or light) women”
- “wanton behavior”
verb
waste time; spend one''s time idly or inefficiently
indulge in a carefree or voluptuous way of life
become extravagant; indulge (oneself) luxuriously
Origin
From Middle English wantoun, wantowen, wantoȝen, wantowe (“uneducated; unrestrained; licentious; sportive; playful”), from wan- (“not, un-, mis-”) + towen, i-towen (“educated”, literally “towed; led; drawn”), from Old English togen, ġetogen, past participle of tēon (“to train, discipline”), equivalent to wan- + towed.
Phrases
- wanton kittens make sober cats
Related words
Narrower terms
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.