Etymograph

English

dirty

Dirty comes from Middle English dirti.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dirti1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1850dirty1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dirty
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology: “When the blackberries begin to decay, and the seeds…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dirtiWiktionary, English dirty
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1850dirtyWiktionary, English dirty. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology: “When the blackberries begin to decay, and the seeds…”

Every English word from Middle English dirti

Today it means

adj Unclean; covered with or containing unpleasant substances such as dirt or grime.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dirty”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English dirti / dirty

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