bad English · revision 1817

14 Oct 2026, 22:13 by bogdan “en10k b0012: full … mean” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=1203 (in a surname)}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /bæd/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|badde]], first found in surnames such as Baddecheese (1203),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) of uncertain origin and without clear relatives in other languages.^(Etymonline)^(MW Word Histories)^(Barnhart 1995) It was originally two syllables,^(Cresswell 2021)^(SOED 2002) and most dictionaries suggest that it is a shortening of Old English [[m|ang|bǣddel|t=hermaphrodite, effeminate man]] and its diminutive [[m|ang|bǣdling|t=effeminate man, sodomite]], with the loss of l as in [[much]] and [[wench]] from [[m|ang|myċel]] and [[m|ang|wenċel]].^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(COED 2004)^(Klein 1966) Etymonline and Merriam-Webster connect these with [[m|ang|bǣdan|t=to defile]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and Barnhart compares Latin [[m|la|foedus|t=foul, filthy]].^(Barnhart 1988) Weekley also considered Old English [[m|ang|ġebǣded|t=forced, oppressed]],^(Weekley 1921) and Partridge preferred a Celtic source.^(Partridge 1966)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Worthless, contemptible, of persons (13th century, first in surnames).^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ If ''bad'' does come from ''bǣddel'', that offensive sense may explain why it was rarely written before the 1400s;^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hendrickson 2008) the Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, suggested that it lived on in vulgar speech as a general term of abuse before entering literary use.^(Etymonline) It meant “inadequate, worthless” by about 1300 and “wicked, evil” by the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) but ''evil'' remained the usual opposite of ''good'' until about 1700.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Merriam-Webster describes ''bad'' gradually replacing ''ill'' and ''evil'' in this role.^(MW Word Histories) The comparatives ''badder'' and ''baddest'' were common from the 14th to the 18th century, as late as Defoe.^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921) Bartlett (1848) recorded American ''I feel very bad'' for “ill”.^(Bartlett 1848) In American slang ''bad'' meant “good, tough” from 1897,^(Dalzell 2013) and in Black English vernacular by the mid-20th century it came to mean “excellent, powerful”, with its own forms ''badder'' and ''baddest'',^(MW Word Histories) and Merriam-Webster compares the similar reversals in ''wicked'' and ''terrific''.^(MW Word Histories) ''My bad'', “my fault”, is recorded from 1999.^(Dalzell 2013)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1203 – ''Baddecheese'', a surname.^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1297 – of poor quality, worthless.^(OED 1989)
+ * late 14th century – wicked, evil; counterfeit.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1393 – ''bad coin'', ''bad penny''.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1575 – adverb, badly.^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)
+ * 1613 – of a legal claim, invalid.^(HTOED)
+ * 1771 – ''not bad''.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1839 – ''feel bad'', sorry or sad (American).^(OED 1989)
+ * 1897 – (slang) good, tough.^(Dalzell 2013)
+ * 1999 – ''my bad''.^(Dalzell 2013)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Of poor quality; inadequate: ''a bad concert''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)
+ # Not skilful: ''bad at maths''.^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Unpleasant or unwelcome: ''bad news''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)
+ # Severe or serious: ''a bad cold''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)
+ # Harmful: ''smoking is bad for you''.^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Morally wrong; wicked.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)
+ # Naughty: ''a bad dog''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Rotten or spoiled: ''bad meat''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)
+ # Ill, injured or painful: ''a bad back''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)
+ # Sorry or guilty: ''I feel bad about it''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)
+ # Not valid: ''a bad cheque''.^(AHD)
+ # ''(slang, originally North American)'' Very good.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(MW Word Histories)
+ 
+ ===Noun===
+ # That which is bad: ''take the bad with the good''.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)
+ 
+ ===Adverb===
+ # ''(informal)'' Badly: ''needs it bad''.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[badness]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[worse]]
+ * [[worst]]
+ * [[evil]]
+ * [[ill]]
+ 
+ ==Usage notes==
+ ''Bad'' as an adverb (''we need water bad'') is common in informal speech but is widely regarded as unacceptable in formal writing.^(AHD) The American Heritage Dictionary calls ''bad'' the broadest of the words for moral failing, ''evil'' a stronger word suggesting depravity, and ''wicked'' one implying deliberate wrongdoing.^(AHD)^(RHWU)
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}