# libido
## English
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin libīdō (“lust, desire”). Used originally in psychoanalytic contexts.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /lɪˈbiː.dəʊ/
* (UK) IPA: /ləˈbi.doʊ/, /lɪˈ-/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -iːdəʊ

### Noun

libido (countable and uncountable, plural libidos)
* (common usage) Sexual urges or drives.
    Synonym: (vulgar) horniness
    Antonym: boredom
    Good grief man, control your libido!
* (psychology) Drives or mental energies related to or based on sexual instincts but not necessarily sexual in and of themselves.
    Antonyms: destrudo, mortido
    Hypernym: drive
    For Freudians, libido means the desire to "unite and bind" with objects in the world.
    The ego as an organ which seeks to synthesize thoughts in the psyche is said to be driven by libido or eros.
* (astronomy, archaic or misused, an occasional carry-over from astrology to astronomy) Synonym of albedo in terms of a planet's, such as that of Mars, average surface spectral reflectivity.

#### Derived terms

* libidoless

#### Related terms

* libido dominandi

#### Descendants

* → Mandarin: 力比多 (lìbǐduō)
* → Irish: libídeo
* → Japanese: リビドー (ribidō)
* → Korean: 리비도 (ribido)

#### See also

* nymphomaniac, hypersexuality, masturbator

## Catalan
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin libīdō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [liˈβi.ðu]
* IPA: (Balearic, Valencia) [liˈbi.ðo]

### Noun

libido f (plural libidos)
* libido

#### Related terms

* libidinal
* libidinós

### Further reading

* “libido”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025

## Czech
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin libīdō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈlɪbɪdo]
* Hyphenation: li‧bi‧do

### Noun

libido n
* libido

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “libido”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “libido”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

## Finnish
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin libīdō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈlibido/, [ˈlibido̞]
* Rhymes: -ibido
* Hyphenation: li‧bi‧do

### Noun

libido
* libido

#### Declension

Possessive forms of libido (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
libidoni
libidoni
accusative
nom.
libidoni
libidoni
gen.
libidoni
genitive
libidoni
libidojeni
partitive
libidoani
libidojani
inessive
libidossani
libidoissani
elative
libidostani
libidoistani
illative
libidooni
libidoihini
adessive
libidollani
libidoillani
ablative
libidoltani
libidoiltani
allative
libidolleni
libidoilleni
essive
libidonani
libidoinani
translative
libidokseni
libidoikseni
abessive
libidottani
libidoittani
instructive
comitative
—libidoineni
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
libidosi
libidosi
accusative
nom.
libidosi
libidosi
gen.
libidosi
genitive
libidosi
libidojesi
partitive
libidoasi
libidojasi
inessive
libidossasi
libidoissasi
elative
libidostasi
libidoistasi
illative
libidoosi
libidoihisi
adessive
libidollasi
libidoillasi
ablative
libidoltasi
libidoiltasi
allative
libidollesi
libidoillesi
essive
libidonasi
libidoinasi
translative
libidoksesi
libidoiksesi
abessive
libidottasi
libidoittasi
instructive
comitative
—libidoinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
libidomme
libidomme
accusative
nom.
libidomme
libidomme
gen.
libidomme
genitive
libidomme
libidojemme
partitive
libidoamme
libidojamme
inessive
libidossamme
libidoissamme
elative
libidostamme
libidoistamme
illative
libidoomme
libidoihimme
adessive
libidollamme
libidoillamme
ablative
libidoltamme
libidoiltamme
allative
libidollemme
libidoillemme
essive
libidonamme
libidoinamme
translative
libidoksemme
libidoiksemme
abessive
libidottamme
libidoittamme
instructive
comitative
—libidoinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
libidonne
libidonne
accusative
nom.
libidonne
libidonne
gen.
libidonne
genitive
libidonne
libidojenne
partitive
libidoanne
libidojanne
inessive
libidossanne
libidoissanne
elative
libidostanne
libidoistanne
illative
libidoonne
libidoihinne
adessive
libidollanne
libidoillanne
ablative
libidoltanne
libidoiltanne
allative
libidollenne
libidoillenne
essive
libidonanne
libidoinanne
translative
libidoksenne
libidoiksenne
abessive
libidottanne
libidoittanne
instructive
comitative
—libidoinenne
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
libidonsa
libidonsa
accusative
nom.
libidonsa
libidonsa
gen.
libidonsa
genitive
libidonsa
libidojensa
partitive
libidoaan libidoansa
libidojaan libidojansa
inessive
libidossaan libidossansa
libidoissaan libidoissansa
elative
libidostaan libidostansa
libidoistaan libidoistansa
illative
libidoonsa
libidoihinsa
adessive
libidollaan libidollansa
libidoillaan libidoillansa
ablative
libidoltaan libidoltansa
libidoiltaan libidoiltansa
allative
libidolleen libidollensa
libidoilleen libidoillensa
essive
libidonaan libidonansa
libidoinaan libidoinansa
translative
libidokseen libidoksensa
libidoikseen libidoiksensa
abessive
libidottaan libidottansa
libidoittaan libidoittansa
instructive
comitative
—libidoineen libidoinensa :

### Further reading

* “libido”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

## French
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin libīdō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /li.bi.do/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

libido f (usually uncountable, plural libidos)
* sex drive, libido

#### Derived terms

* libidinal
* libidineux

#### Descendants

* → Turkish: libido

### Further reading

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

## Galician
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin libīdō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /liˈβið̞ʊ/

### Noun

libido f (plural libidos)
* libido

#### Related terms

* libidonoso

### Further reading

* “libido”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

## Italian
### Noun

libido f (invariable)
* (psychoanalysis) libido

### See also

* libidine

### Anagrams

* bolidi

## Latin
### Alternative forms

* lubīdō

### Etymology

From Proto-Italic *luβēō (“to desire”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“love, care, desire”).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /liˈbiː.doː/, [lʲɪˈbiːd̪oː]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /liˈbi.do/, [liˈbiːd̪o]

### Noun

libīdō f (genitive libīdinis); third declension
* desire, fancy, inclination, longing, pleasure, caprice, passion, wantonness
    Synonyms: cupīdō, studium, appetītiō, dēsīderium, appetītus, amor, impetus, ardor, inclīnātiō, prōpēnsiō, avāritia
** 55 BCE, Cicero, De Oratore 3.1:Haec tibi est incīdenda lingua, quā vel ēvulsā spīritū ipsō libīdinem tuam lībertās mea refūtābit.(For that) you must sever this tongue of mine, and even if it is torn out, the freedom in my very breath will confound your wantonness.
* lust, sensuality
    Synonyms: amor, cupīdō
    Libīdō vincit omnia.Lust conquers everything.
** c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca the Younger, De brevitate vitae 7:In prīmīs autem et illōs numerō quī nūllī reī nisi vīnō ac libīdinī vacant; nūllī enim turpius occupātī sunt.But among the worst I count also those who have time for nothing but wine and lust; for none have more shameful engrossments.
** c. 69 CE – 122 CE, Suetonius, De vita Caesarum 3 44:Maiōre adhūc ac turpiōre īnfāmiā flagrāvit, vix ut referrī audīrīve, nēdum crēdī fās sit, quasi puerōs prīmae teneritūdinis, quōs pisciculōs vocābat, īnstitueret, ut natantī sibi inter femina versārentur ac lūderent linguā morsūque sēnsim adpetentēs; atque etiam quasi īnfantēs firmiōrēs, necdum tamen lacte dēpulsōs, inguinī ceu papillae admovēret, prōnior sānē ad id genus libīdinis et nātūrā et aetāte.He was excited with a greater and more shameful infamy, that hardly can be told or heard, by no means be believed to be allowed by the gods, like how he trained little boys of the tenderest age, which he called 'little fish', to go around between his thighs and rouse his senses with the tongue and by biting, while he was swimming; or even how he put stronger babies, not weaned yet, to his genitals as if to nipples, certainly more inclined to this kind of lechery by nature as well as by age.

#### Declension

Third-declension noun.

#### Derived terms

* libīdinōsus

#### Related terms

* libet
* libīdinōsē
* libita

#### Descendants

* → Armenian: լիբիդո (libido)
* → Catalan: libido
* → Dutch: libido
* → English: libido
** → Mandarin: 力比多 (lìbǐduō)
** → Irish: libídeo
** → Japanese: リビドー (ribidō)
** → Korean: 리비도 (ribido)
* → Finnish: libido
* → French: libido
** → Turkish: libido
* → German: Libido
* → Galician: libido
* → Hebrew: לִיבִּידוֹ (libido)
* → Hungarian: libidó
* → Italian: libido, libidine
* → Polish: libido
* → Portuguese: libido
* → Romanian: libido
* → Russian: либи́до (libído)
* → Serbo-Croatian: лѝбидо (lìbido)
* → Slovene: lȋbido
* → Spanish: libido
* → Swedish: libido

### References

* “libido”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “libido”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* libido in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
* Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co. anger is defined as a passionate desire for revenge: iracundiam sic (ita) definiunt, ut ulciscendi libidinem esse dicant or ut u. libido sit or iracundiam sic definiunt, ulc. libidinem to be carried away by one's passions: libidine ferri to abandon oneself (entirely) to debauchery: se (totum) libidinibus dedere to bridle one's desires: refrenare cupiditates, libidines to arouse some one's lust: libidinem alicuius excitare the passions win the day: libido dominatur (Or. 65. 219) the storm of passion has abated: libido consēdit

## Polish
### Etymology

From Latin libīdō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /liˈbi.dɔ/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -idɔ
* Syllabification: li‧bi‧do

### Noun

libido n (indeclinable)
* (common usage) libido (sexual urges or drives)
    Synonyms: popęd seksualny, pożądanie seksualne, chuć
* (psychoanalysis) libido (drives or mental energies related or based on sexual instincts but not necessarily sexual in and of themselves)

### Further reading

* libido in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* libido in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Alternative forms

* líbido

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /liˈbi.du/
* (Brazil) IPA: /liˈbi.du/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /liˈbi.do/
* (Portugal) IPA: /liˈbi.du/ [liˈβi.ðu]
* Hyphenation: li‧bi‧do

### Noun

libido m or f (plural libidos)
* (psychology) libido (sexual urges or drives)
* (psychology) libido (drives based on sexual instincts)

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin libido or French libido.

### Noun

libido n (uncountable)
* sex drive, libido

#### Declension
## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

From Latin libīdō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /lǐbido/
* Hyphenation: li‧bi‧do

### Noun

lìbido m (Cyrillic spelling лѝбидо)
* libido

#### Related terms

* lȉbidinōzan

## Slovak
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin libīdō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈʎibidɔ]

### Noun

libido n
* libido

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “libido”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

## Slovene
### Etymology

From Latin libīdō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /líːbidɔ/

### Noun

lȋbido m inan
* libido

#### Derived terms

* libidinózen

## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin libīdō.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /liˈbido/ [liˈβ̞i.ð̞o]
* Rhymes: -ido
* Syllabification: li‧bi‧do

#### Usage notes

* There is a certain tendency to pronounce libido as /ˈli.bi.do/ due to the influence of lívido, but this pronunciation is incorrect according to the Spanish orthography and thus not recommended.

### Noun

libido f (plural libidos)
* libido, sex drive

### References

* ↑ “libido”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
* ↑ “libido”, in Diccionario panhispánico de dudas [Panhispanic Dictionary of Doubts] (in Spanish), 2nd edition, Royal Spanish Academy; Association of Academies of the Spanish Language, 2023, →ISBN

### Further reading

* “libido”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swahili
### Etymology

Borrowed from English libido.

### Noun

libido class IX (plural libido class X)
* libido
    Synonyms: ashiki, nyege

## Swedish
### Noun

libido c
* libido (sexual urges or drives)
    Synonym: könsdrift
* (psychology) libido

#### Declension
### References

* libido in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* libido in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)