Wiktionary

decent

See also: décent

English

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from Middle French décent, or its source, Latin decēns, present participle of decet (“it is fitting or suitable”), from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to take, accept, to receive, greet, be suitable”) (compare Ancient Greek δοκέω (dokéō, “I appear, seem, think”), δέχομαι (dékhomai, “I accept”); Sanskrit दशस्यति (daśasyáti, “shows honor, is gracious”), दाशति (dāśati, “makes offerings, bestows”)). Meaning ‘kind, pleasant’ is from 1902.

Pronunciation

edit
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈdiːsənt/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːsənt

Adjective

edit

decent (comparative more decent, superlative most decent)

  1. Appropriate; suitable for the circumstances.
  2. (of a person) Having a suitable conformity to basic moral standards; showing integrity, fairness, or other characteristics associated with moral uprightness.
  3. (informal) Sufficiently clothed or dressed to be seen.
    Are you decent? May I come in?
  4. Fair; acceptable; okay.
    He's a decent saxophonist, but probably not good enough to make a career of it.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
      A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.
    • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, London: Heinemann, →OCLC, page 35:
      And ‘blubbing’... Blubbing went out with ‘decent’ and ‘ripping’. Mind you, not a bad new language to start up. Nineteen-twenties schoolboy slang could be due for a revival.
    • 2021 June 30, Philip Haigh, “Regional trains squeezed as ECML congestion heads north”, in RAIL, number 934, page 53:
      I'm all for opening new stations (Transport Scotland is planning another at East Linton, about halfway between Drem and Dunbar), but they are useless without a decent service.
  5. Significant; substantial.
    There are a decent number of references out there, if you can find them.
  6. Conforming to perceived standards of good taste.
    • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 201:
      I had a cup of tea - the last decent cup of tea for many days; and in a room that most soothingly looked just as you would expect a lady’s drawing-room to look, we had a long quiet chat by the fireside.
  7. (obsolete) Comely; shapely; well-formed.

Usage notes

edit

Synonyms

edit

Antonyms

edit

Derived terms

edit
edit

Translations

edit

References

edit

Anagrams

edit

Friulian

edit

Etymology

edit

From Latin decens.

Pronunciation

edit
  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Adjective

edit

decent

  1. decent

Latin

edit

Verb

edit

decent

  1. third-person plural present active indicative of decet

Occitan

edit

Etymology

edit

From Latin decens.

Pronunciation

edit
  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Adjective

edit

decent m (feminine singular decenta, masculine plural decents, feminine plural decentas)

  1. decent

Derived terms

edit
edit

Romanian

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from French décent, from Latin decens.

Pronunciation

edit

Adjective

edit

decent m or n (feminine singular decentă, masculine plural decenți, feminine and neuter plural decente)

  1. decent

Declension

edit
Declension of decent
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite decent decentă decenți decente
definite decentul decenta decenții decentele
genitive/
dative 		indefinite decent decente decenți decente
definite decentului decentei decenților decentelor

Further reading

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=decent&oldid=80791090"