Where does “filth” come from?
Filth derives from Middle English filth, Old English fȳlþu, Proto-West Germanic fūliþu (from fūl, meaning foul or rotten), Proto-Germanic fūlaz, and Proto-Indo-European pū-.
filth (English): Dirt; foul matter; that which soils or defiles;...
Definitions
- Dirt; foul matter; that which soils or defiles;...
Ancestry of “filth”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | filth | — |
| 2 | Old English | fȳlþu | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | fūliþu | foulness, rottenness, filth |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | fūl | foul, dirty |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fūlaz | foul, dirty; rotten |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pū- | rotten, putrid; be rotten; putrid; to rot, swell,... |
Words derived from “filth”