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Definition of Effete
1. Adjective. Marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay. "A group of effete self-professed intellectuals"
Definition of Effete
1. a. No longer capable of producing young, as an animal, or fruit, as the earth; hence, worn out with age; exhausted of energy; incapable of efficient action; no longer productive; barren; sterile.
Definition of Effete
1. Adjective. (obsolete) Of substances, quantities etc: exhausted, spent, worn-out. ¹
2. Adjective. (rare) Of people: lacking strength or vitality; feeble, powerless, impotent. ¹
3. Adjective. Decadent, self-indulgent. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Effete
1. exhausted of vigor or energy [adj] : EFFETELY [adv]
Medical Definition of Effete
1. No longer capable of producing young, as an animal, or fruit, as the earth; hence, worn out with age; exhausted of energy; incapable of efficient action; no longer productive; barren; sterile. "Effete results from virile efforts." (Mrs. Browning) "If they find the old governments effete, worn out, . . . They may seek new ones." (Burke) Origin: L. Effetus that has brought forth, exhausted; ex + foetus that has brought forth. See Foetus. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Effete
Literary usage of Effete
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The Life and Work of the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, K. G. by Edwin Hodder (1893)
"effete I Indeed, I should like to know whether it is effete at this moment in India.
Is it effete in the effect lately begun to be produced in China ? ..."
2. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage by Inc. Merriam-Webster (1994)
"effete first showed signs of acquiring these shades of meaning in the l920s: “You're
much ... there are a few critics (principally effete members of English ..."
3. The Principles of medicine by John Milton Scudder (1867)
"effete MATTERS. 328. The effete material is found in the blood in very sma
proportion, since it is being continually removed by the excretory organs as fast ..."
4. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences by Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (U.S.) (1861)
"... and either to hasten the decomposition of these latter, or to interfere with
the due removal from the blood of such as are broken down and effete. 8th. ..."
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