turpitude

turpitude

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French turpitude, from Latin turpitūdō (“baseness, infamy”), from turpis (“foul, base”).

Noun

turpitude (countable and uncountable, plural turpitudes)

1. Inherent baseness, depravity or wickedness; corruptness and evilness.
   • 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde:

     As for the moral turpitude that man unveiled to me, even with tears of penitence, I cannot, even in memory, dwell on it without a start of horror.

2. An act evident of such a depravity.

Derived terms

• moral turpitude

Related terms

• turpid
• turpidly
• turpitudinous

Translations

inherent baseness, depravity or wickedness; corruptness and evilness

Bulgarian: низост (bg) f (nizost), подлост (bg) f (podlost) French: turpitude (fr) f Russian: ни́зость (ru) f (nízostʹ), развращённость f (razvraščónnostʹ)

act evident of such a depravity

French: turpitude (fr) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Serbo-Croatian: (please verify) niskost (sh) m

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin turpitūdō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tyʁ.pi.tyd/

Noun

turpitude f (plural turpitudes)

1. turpitude (depravity, wickedness)
2. turpitude (depraved or wicked act)

Further reading

• “turpitude”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.