"dirty" in seven languages
Meaningdirty
Spanish
/ˈsuθjo/
inherited
French
/sal/
other source · Frankish *salo 'murky, dull-coloured'
Before a noun it means 'nasty': un sale type.
Italian
/ˈspɔrko/
other source · Latin SPURCUM 'filthy, foul'
Portuguese
/ˈsuʒu/
inherited
Romanian
/murˈdar/
other source · Turkish murdar 'impure' (from Persian)
Catalan
/brut/
other source · Latin BRŪTUM 'dull, irrational'
False friend: Catalan brut is 'dirty', not 'brutal'.
English
/ˈdɝti/
native English · Old Norse drit 'excrement'
The Latin ancestor
SŪCIDUM‘juicy; greasy (of unwashed wool)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Spanish sucio began with sheep: SŪCIDUS described greasy, unwashed wool. French sale is Frankish, a relative of English sallow.
English relatives: sallow (a Germanic cognate of sale)
Learn it
In a sentence
- esTus zapatos están sucios.
- frTes chaussures sont sales.
- itLe tue scarpe sono sporche.
- ptSeus sapatos estão sujos.
- roPantofii tăi sunt murdari.
- caLes teves sabates estan brutes.
- enYour shoes are dirty.