celibacy

What it means

1. countableuncountableAbstaining from marriage; the state of being unmarried.

   I could document this defense of celibacy. Unmarried women show up very well in all the tests of mental health.

   1970, The Futurist, page 42

   1 more example

   They came to believe that men, who would live a godly life, must view marriage as a sin and choose a life of celibacy.

   1920, American Lutheran Survey, volumes 13-14, page 16

2. broadlycountableuncountableAbstinence from sexual relations.

In a sentence

They came to believe that men, who would live a godly life, must view marriage as a sin and choose a life of celibacy.

1920, American Lutheran Survey, volumes 13-14, page 16

Where it comes from

1. Latincaelibātus“celibacy, a single life”
2. Englishcelibacy

From Latin caelibātus (“celibacy, a single life”), from caelebs (“unmarried”). By surface analysis, celib(ate) + -acy.