Lubricities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or state of being slippery or smooth, often related to reducing friction in mechanisms or surfaces
2. Instances of excessive or immoral sexual behavior that is characterized by lewdness or indecency
3. In a figurative sense, actions or dialogues that are often suggestive or risqué in nature, conveying a sense of sexual impropriety or salaciousness

Etymology: "Lubricities" is the plural of "lubricity," so the history of the singular applies. The root is Latin "lūbricus," meaning slippery, which gave rise to the abstract noun "lūbricitās," slipperiness. French took this as "lubricité," and English borrowed the word from that French form. The sense has shifted over the centuries. The original, literal meaning concerned physical slipperiness, the quality of a surface that makes things slide. Over time the word also acquired a figurative sense of moral slipperiness, meaning lewdness or wantonness, and that is the meaning many readers now think of first. The more mechanical sense, describing the slickness that reduces friction, is the one closest to the Latin source.

Synonyms: slipperiness, smoothness, greasiness, oily nature, slickness

Antonyms: roughness, coarseness, stickiness, abrasiveness, harshness