effete
pronunciation
How to pronounce effete in British English:
UK [ɪˈfi:t]
How to pronounce effete in American English:
US [ɪˈfit]
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- Adjective:
- marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay
Word Origin
- effete
- effete: [17] Latin effētus meant literally ‘that has given birth’. It was a compound adjective, based on the prefix ex- ‘out’ and fētus ‘childbearing, offspring’ (source of English foetus). Its use spread metaphorically first to ‘worn out by giving birth’ and finally to simply ‘exhausted’, the senses in which English originally acquired it. The word’s modern connotations of ‘overrefinement’ and ‘decadence’ did not develop until the 19th century.
- effete (adj.)
- 1620s, "functionless as a result of age or exhaustion," from Latin effetus (usually in fem. effeta) "exhausted, unproductive, worn out (with bearing offspring), past bearing," literally "that has given birth," from a lost verb, *efferi, from ex- "out" (see ex-) + fetus "childbearing, offspring" (see fetus). Figurative use is earliest in English; literal use is rare. Sense of "intellectually or morally exhausted" (1790) led to that of "decadent, effeminate" (by 1850s).
Example
- 1. An effete civilization , empire , government , etc.
- 2. No one , therefore , can accuse mr webb of being an effete peacenik .
- 3. Children were being killed because effete english folk would rather adjust the clocks than get up early .
- 4. People said the aristocracy was effete .
- 5. During the middle ages , greek civilization declined and became effete .