debauch

Meanings

Noun

• An individual act of debauchery.
• An orgy.

Verb

• To morally corrupt (someone); to seduce.
• To debase (something); to lower the value of (something).
• To indulge in revelry.

Origin

• 1590s, from Middle French desbaucher ("entice from work or duty"), from Old French desbauchier ("to lead astray"), from des- + bauch, from Frankish *balko, from Proto-Germanic *balkô, from Proto-Indo-European *bhelg- ("beam, plank"); latter origin of balk.
• Evolution of sense unclear; may be literally “to shave/trim wood to make a beam” or may be “to leave/lure someone from a workshop”, Frankish *balko perhaps also meaning “workshop”.
• Possible corruption by way of Anglicised French term bord: kerb crawling as a synonym for prostitution. Parallels in modern German: Bordsteinschwalbe. English words bawd, bawdiness may be similarly connected.