sporco Italian · revision 38202

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=first half of 14th century, Nicolò de' Rossi|origins=la spurcus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈspɔr.ko/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sporco''' (feminine sporca, masculine plural sporchi, feminine plural sporche, superlative sporchissimo, diminutive sporchétto or sporchìno)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian also had [[m|roa-oit|spurco]] and the superlative ⟨spurcissimo⟩.^(TLIO)^(GDLI) A crossing with Latin ''sucidus'' gave [[roa-oit|spurcido]].^(DEI)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|spurcus|alt=spŭrcus|t=impure, filthy]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The open /ɔ/, where Latin short /u/ should give a close /o/, is due to the influence of [[porco|t=pig]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI) DELI quotes Rohlfs on this, and Treccani calls it a folk-etymological association.^(DELI 1999)^(Treccani 2011) In the northern dialects the word is ⟨sporc⟩.^(DEI)

+

+ DEI calls the word Romanian and Italian only, and Nocentini names [[ro|spurc|t=devil]].^(DEI)^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Meyer-Lübke adds [[lld|spork|t=afterbirth]] from Val Gardena.^(REW 1935) The Latin adjective is often connected with [[m|la|spurius|t=bastard]], and so taken to be of Etruscan origin.^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto 1968)^(DELI 1999) Another proposal derives it from [[itc-pro|*sporkos]], from [[ine-pro|*spr̥ḱós]], perhaps from the root [[m|ine-pro|*sper-|t=to scatter]], with an original sense “contaminated”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the ''Rime'' of Nicolò de' Rossi (first half of the 14th century, Tuscan-Venetian), for something that has lost its cleanness or purity by contact with what stains or degrades.^(TLIO) DELI dates the sense “smeared, dirtied” to the ''Storia di Stefano'' at the end of the 14th century.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The moral sense, “contrary to honesty and honour”, appears in Leon Battista Alberti before 1472.^(DELI 1999) Alberti also has ''spurcizia'', and Varchi, before 1565, ''sporcizia''.^(DELI 1999) The verb ''sporcare'' was used for moral stains before 1600 (Davanzati), and for physical dirt only in 1735.^(DELI 1999) In Umbria and Lazio ''sporchizia'' has also meant a lightning bolt.^(DEI) The noun ''lo sporco'', dirt, is recorded in 1960.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Modern Italian uses the adjective for a dull colour mixed with grey or black, as in ''bianco sporco'', for polluting industries and fuels, for a faulty audio or video signal, and in sport for an irregular shot or bounce.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) Italian commercial language once used ''sporco'' for gross weight, and German borrowed it in that sense as ''Sporko''.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * First half of the 14th century – Nicolò de' Rossi uses ''sporco'' in his ''Rime''.^(TLIO)

+ * Late 14th century – The ''Storia di Stefano'' uses it for “dirtied”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti uses the moral sense and the noun ''spurcizia''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi uses ''sporcizia''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1735 – ''Sporcare'' is recorded for “to make dirty”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1891 – ''Sporcaccione'' is first recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1960 – The noun ''sporco'' “dirt” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|dirty|alt=Dirty]], not clean, stained (+ di): ''Ha le scarpe sporche di terra.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of a person, who neglects personal hygiene.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # Of a colour, dull, mixed with grey or black, as in ''bianco sporco''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(figurative)'' [[m|en|dishonest|alt=Dishonest]], immoral, or of things contrary to honesty: ''un giro di soldi sporchi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Vulgar, [[m|en|obscene]]: ''Al bar raccontava barzellette sporche.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # Polluting, harmful to the environment: ''energia sporca''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Of a sound or signal, unclear, disturbed.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(sport)'' Irregular, imperfect, as in ''rimbalzo sporco''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|dirt|alt=Dirt]], filth: ''Dopo il trasloco c'era sporco dappertutto.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sporcare]]

+ * [[sporcizia]]

+ * [[sporcaccione]]

+ * [[sporcamente]]

+ * [[sporcheria]]

+ * [[sporchezza]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[spurio]]

+ * [[porco]]

+ * [[la|spurcus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases are ''avere la coscienza sporca'' (to have a guilty conscience), ''avere la fedina penale sporca'' (to have a criminal record), ''farla sporca'' (to do something underhand) and ''lavare i panni sporchi in famiglia'' (to wash one's dirty linen at home).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011) In canasta a ''canasta sporca'' is a meld that includes one or two jokers.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}