Lechers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of individuals who exhibit excessive sexual desire or indulge in lewd behavior towards others
2. people marked by an insatiable craving for sexual gratification often acting inappropriately
3. those driven by lustful impulses that lead to objectionable actions towards others

Etymology: "Lechers" is simply the plural of "lecher", so the story belongs to the singular. The noun comes from Old French "lecheor", meaning glutton or sensualist, and the verb behind it, "lecher" or "lechier", meant to live in gluttony or sensuality. Those French forms trace back to Old Frankish "likkōn", "to lick", so the original image is of a person who licks at food and pleasure with appetite. That physical sense of licking is the key to the shift. Gluttony and lust were both understood as appetites of the same kind, and the word moved from describing a greedy eater to describing someone who indulged in sensual pleasures generally. Middle English took it up as "lechour", and by the time it reached the modern sense, the emphasis had narrowed from food to sexual appetite.

Synonyms: debauchers, lusters, philanderers

Antonyms: saints, puritans, virtuous people