Lewe

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. An archaic term for someone who is unlearned, ignorant, or not part of the clergy
2. Describing a person without formal learning or religious training, a term used in older English
3. Archaic word meaning untrained or unlettered, referring to a layperson rather than a scholar or priest

Etymology: The surprising part is the shift from religious status to moral character. In Old English, a "lǣwed" person was a layman, someone outside the clergy. Because churchmen were the people who could read Latin and handle learning, to be a layman was to be unlearned, and "lewed" (also spelled "lewe" in Middle English) came to mean ignorant or unlearned in general. Its ultimate origin is uncertain, and it may be related to the Old English word for "people" or "laity," but the sense of "not clerical" is the clearest starting point. The meaning then slid from intellectual to moral. Through the later Middle English period, an unlearned person was often assumed to be coarse or unrefined, and "lewd" came to mean vulgar, base, or sexually improper. By the time it was widely used in later English, the sense of "ignorant" had largely faded, leaving only the moral meaning. Modern English keeps the older sense only in historical or literary writing.

Synonyms: dear, beloved

Antonyms: hateful