prude
UK[pruːd]US[pruːd]
n
A person who is excessively concerned with propriety or modesty, especially in a way that seems easily shocked by matters related to sex.
Etymology
The word 'prude' entered English in the early 18th century from the French 'prude femme', meaning a 'worthy or respectable woman'. This French term was a shortening of the Old French 'preude femme', where 'preude' derived from 'prode', meaning 'good, virtuous, wise'. The ultimate root is the Latin adjective 'prōdis', a variant of 'prōdesse', meaning 'to be of value or benefit'. The semantic journey is one of ironic reversal: a term originally denoting praiseworthy feminine virtue gradually acquired a critical connotation of excessive, affected, or hypocritical modesty. In modern usage, a 'prude' is defined not by genuine virtue but by an ostentatious or censorious attitude towards the behavior of others.
Analysis
The word 'prude' is a loanword from French. It does not contain separable, productive morphemes in modern English that are direct substrings of the original spelling with distinct, analyzable senses.
Examples
She didn't want to be considered a prude, so she laughed along with the risqué joke.
His prude of a landlord objected to the modern art displayed in the apartment.
The film was criticized by a few local prudes for its frank dialogue.