squalid

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

Borrowed from Latin squalidus, from squalere (to be rough or dirty).

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adjective

[edit]

squalid (comparative squalider, superlative squalidest)

  1. Extremely dirty and unpleasant.
    • 1686, The Refin'd Courtier, or a Correction of several indecencies crept into civil conversation., London: Matthew Gilliflower:
      [...] Mythologists describe Pan the son of Mercury (who was the God of Speech) with the upper part like a man, and the lower like a beast, to signifie that Truth is fair and comely, but a Lye squalid and Deformed.
  2. Showing a contemptible lack of moral standards.
    A squalid attempt to buy votes.
Derived terms
[edit]
Translations
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

squalid (plural squalids)

  1. (zoology) Any member of the family Squalidae of dogfish sharks.
    • 2008, David A. Ebert, James A. Sulikowski, Biology of Skates, page 126:
      Numerous diet studies on squalids have shown that members of this family tend to feed mainly on teleosts and cephalopods []