rotten
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English roten, from Old Norse rotinn (“decayed, rotten”), past participle of an unrecorded verb related to Old Norse rotna (“to rot”) and Old English rotian (“to rot”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *rutāną (“to rot”). More at rot.
PronunciationEdit
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɹɑtn̩/, [ˈɹɑʔn̩]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɹɒtn̩/
Audio (RP) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒtən
AdjectiveEdit
rotten (comparative rottener or more rotten, superlative rottenest or most rotten)
- Of perishable items, overridden with bacteria and other infectious agents.
- If you leave a bin unattended for a few weeks, the rubbish inside will turn rotten.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
- Antonio: Mark you this, Bassanio, / The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. / An evil soul producing holy witness / Is like a villain with a smiling cheek, / A goodly apple rotten at the heart. / O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
- In a state of decay.
- The floors were damaged and the walls were rotten.
- His mouth stank and his teeth were rotten.
- c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], page 191:
- But poore old man, thou prun'ſt a rotten tree, / That cannot ſo much as a bloſſome yeelde
- Cruel, mean or immoral.
- That man is a rotten father.
- This rotten policy will create more injustice in this country.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], page 257, column 2:
- Something is rotten in the State of Denmarke.
- Bad or terrible.
- Why is the weather always rotten in this city?
- It was a rotten idea to take the boat out today.
- She has the flu and feels rotten.
- Of stone or rock, crumbling or friable; in a loose or disintegrated state.
- 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 215:
- The quartz specimens were sometimes blue, hard-looking stone, or rotten quartz largely impregnated with iron, in both cases carrying bright glittering nodules of gold.
- very drunk, intoxicated
Derived termsEdit
CollocationsEdit
- rotten wood
- rotten food
- rotten egg
- rotten meat
- rotten fruit
- rotten tomato
- rotten apple
- rotten banana
- rotten milk
- rotten vegetable
- rotten tooth
- rotten smell
- rotten person
- rotten kid
- rotten bastard
- rotten scoundrel
- rotten weather
TranslationsEdit
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AdverbEdit
rotten (comparative more rotten, superlative most rotten)
- To an extreme degree.
- That kid is spoilt rotten.
- The girls fancy him something rotten.
- 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
- "It's old man Challenger's show and we are here by his good will, so it would be rotten bad form if we didn't follow his instructions to the letter."
AnagramsEdit
DutchEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle Dutch rotten, reformed from earlier roten, from Old Dutch *roton, from Proto-Germanic *rutāną.
VerbEdit
rotten
InflectionEdit
Inflection of rotten (weak) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | rotten | |||
past singular | rotte | |||
past participle | gerot | |||
infinitive | rotten | |||
gerund | rotten n | |||
present tense | past tense | |||
1st person singular | rot | rotte | ||
2nd person sing. (jij) | rot | rotte | ||
2nd person sing. (u) | rot | rotte | ||
2nd person sing. (gij) | rot | rotte | ||
3rd person singular | rot | rotte | ||
plural | rotten | rotten | ||
subjunctive sing.1 | rotte | rotte | ||
subjunctive plur.1 | rotten | rotten | ||
imperative sing. | rot | |||
imperative plur.1 | rot | |||
participles | rottend | gerot | ||
1) Archaic. |
Derived termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
NounEdit
rotten
- Plural form of rot
GermanEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle Low German rotten, alteration (perhaps intensivation) of older rōten, from Old Saxon rotōn, from Proto-Germanic *rutāną.
VerbEdit
rotten (weak, third-person singular present rottet, past tense rottete, past participle gerottet, auxiliary haben)
Usage notesEdit
- As a simplex chiefly with certain adverbs, like vor sich hin. More common in compounds.
ConjugationEdit
infinitive | rotten | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | rottend | ||||
past participle | gerottet | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich rotte | wir rotten | i | ich rotte | wir rotten |
du rottest | ihr rottet | du rottest | ihr rottet | ||
er rottet | sie rotten | er rotte | sie rotten | ||
preterite | ich rottete | wir rotteten | ii | ich rottete1 | wir rotteten1 |
du rottetest | ihr rottetet | du rottetest1 | ihr rottetet1 | ||
er rottete | sie rotteten | er rottete1 | sie rotteten1 | ||
imperative | rott (du) rotte (du) |
rottet (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
From Middle High German roten, derived from rote (whence modern Rotte), from Old French rote, from Latin rupta.
VerbEdit
rotten (weak, third-person singular present rottet, past tense rottete, past participle gerottet, auxiliary haben)
ConjugationEdit
infinitive | rotten | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | rottend | ||||
past participle | gerottet | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich rotte | wir rotten | i | ich rotte | wir rotten |
du rottest | ihr rottet | du rottest | ihr rottet | ||
er rottet | sie rotten | er rotte | sie rotten | ||
preterite | ich rottete | wir rotteten | ii | ich rottete1 | wir rotteten1 |
du rottetest | ihr rottetet | du rottetest1 | ihr rottetet1 | ||
er rottete | sie rotteten | er rottete1 | sie rotteten1 | ||
imperative | rott (du) rotte (du) |
rottet (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived termsEdit
- zusammenrotten (remains common)
Etymology 3Edit
From Middle High German roten, roden, from Proto-Germanic *rudōną.
VerbEdit
rotten (weak, third-person singular present rottet, past tense rottete, past participle gerottet, auxiliary haben)
ConjugationEdit
infinitive | rotten | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | rottend | ||||
past participle | gerottet | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich rotte | wir rotten | i | ich rotte | wir rotten |
du rottest | ihr rottet | du rottest | ihr rottet | ||
er rottet | sie rotten | er rotte | sie rotten | ||
preterite | ich rottete | wir rotteten | ii | ich rottete1 | wir rotteten1 |
du rottetest | ihr rottetet | du rottetest1 | ihr rottetet1 | ||
er rottete | sie rotteten | er rottete1 | sie rotteten1 | ||
imperative | rott (du) rotte (du) |
rottet (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived termsEdit
- ausrotten (remains common)
Further readingEdit
Middle EnglishEdit
VerbEdit
rotten
- Alternative form of roten (“to rot”)
Norwegian BokmålEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- rotta f
NounEdit
rotten m
West FrisianEdit
NounEdit
rotten