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effete

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ef⋅fete

  [i-feet]
Use effete in a Sentence
–adjective
1. lacking in wholesome vigor; degenerate; decadent: an effete, overrefined society.
2. exhausted of vigor or energy; worn out: an effete political force.
3. unable to produce; sterile.
Origin:
1615–25; < L effēta exhausted from bearing, equiv. to ef- ef- + fēta having brought forth, fem. ptp. of lost v.; see fetus

Related forms:
ef⋅fete⋅ly, adverb
ef⋅fete⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. enervated, debilitated.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ef·fete   (ĭ-fēt')   
adj.  

  1. Depleted of vitality, force, or effectiveness; exhausted: the final, effete period of the baroque style.

  2. Marked by self-indulgence, triviality, or decadence: an effete group of self-professed intellectuals.

  3. Overrefined; effeminate.

  4. No longer productive; infertile.


[Latin effētus, worn out, exhausted : ex-, ex- + fētus, bearing young, pregnant; see dhē(i)- in Indo-European roots.]
ef·fete'ly adv., ef·fete'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

effete 
1621, from L. effetus (usually in fem. effeta) "unproductive, worn out (with bearing offspring)" lit. "that has given birth," from ex- "out" + fetus "childbearing, offspring" (see fetus). Sense of "exhausted" is 1662; that of "morally exhausted" (1790) led to "decadent" (19c.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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