celibate

What it means

1. not comparablechiefly religiousNot married.First known use 1827

   Synonyms: unmarried, single

2. broadlynot comparableAbstaining from sexual relations and pleasures.

   Members of religious communities sometimes take vows to remain celibate.

   1 more example

   Juanita went celibate for a while and then started going out with Da5id and eventually got married to him.

   1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 57

   Synonyms: abstinent, chaste, pure

In a sentence

Members of religious communities sometimes take vows to remain celibate.

Where it comes from

Probably from the noun (“celibacy”) or from celibacy on the model of privacy/private, etc. Alternatively, from Latin caelebs (“single”) + -ate.

First known use: 1827