filthy English · revision 39572

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1384, Wycliffite Bible}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfɪlθi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a Middle English formation, [[m|enm|filthi]], from [[filth]] and the adjective suffix [[-y]].^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(MED)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Dirty, unclean: c. 1384, in the early version of the Wycliffite Bible, of soiled clothes.^(OED 2026)^(MED) Etymonline dates a sense "corrupt, sinful" to the late 12th century,^(Etymonline) and the Shorter Oxford also lists the moral sense first,^(SOED 2002) but the OED, revising the entry in 2016, dates it to about 1400.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline, following the OED, notes that in early use the word was hardly stronger than modern ''dirty'', but that it later became a violent expression of disgust.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense, morally foul or obscene, is recorded from about 1400,^(OED 2026) though Etymonline dates it to the 1530s.^(Etymonline) In 1533 ''filthy'' could describe a disgusting smell or taste and anything disgraceful or contemptible; later, in colloquial use, it became an intensifier.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) glossed it as "nasty; foul; dirty" and "gross; polluted", quoting Macbeth's "fog and filthy air".^(Johnson 1755) Weather has been ''filthy'' since 1600,^(OED 2026) a use Collins marks as chiefly British,^(Collins 2023) and tempers since 1887;^(OED 2026) a ''filthy look'' dates from 1922.^(OED 2026) In Australian and New Zealand English a person ''filthy on'' someone is very angry with them (1986).^(OED 2026) Slang turned the word to money, from ''filthy lucre'' (1876 in the OED,^(OED 2026) 1905 in Green's^(GDoS)), and, on the model of ''bad'', to praise for something excellent (1987).^(GDoS) In dialect it could also mean overgrown with weeds (Gloucestershire) or infested with vermin (northern England, Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire).^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 12th century – corrupt, sinful, in Etymonline's dating.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1384 – dirty, unclean.^(OED 2026)^(MED)

+ * c. 1400 – morally foul, obscene;^(OED 2026) the 1530s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1533 – offensive to the senses; disgraceful, contemptible.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1600 – of weather, wet and unpleasant.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1876 – ''the filthy'', money.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1887 – of a temper, very bad.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1922 – of a look, showing disgust.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1986 – (Australia, New Zealand) very angry.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1987 – (slang) excellent.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very [[dirty]]: ''Her boots were filthy after the walk.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # [[obscene|alt=Obscene]] or indecent.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Vile, [[underhand]]ed: ''a filthy trick''.^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # (informal, chiefly British) Very unpleasant, especially of weather.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (informal) Of a mood, very bad; of a look, expressing disgust or anger.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # (informal) Extremely, as in the set phrase ''filthy rich''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[filthily]]

+ * [[filthiness]]

+ * [[filthy lucre]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[foul]]

+ * [[defile]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Wright's dialect dictionary ''filthy'' means covered with weeds in Gloucestershire and infested with vermin in the north of England, Lincolnshire and Gloucestershire; in Oxfordshire it is "outrageous, very bad" (a ''filthy temper''), and in Devon it describes wet, foggy weather, as on Dartmoor.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}