rotten
/ˈɹɑtn̩/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.81 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of perishable items, overridden with bacteria and other infectious agents.
adj
In a state of decay.
Example Sentences
- "If you leave a bin unattended for a few weeks, the rubbish inside will turn rotten."
- "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!"
- "The floors were damaged and the walls were rotten."
- "His mouth stank and his teeth were rotten."
- "But poore old man, thou prun'ſt a rotten tree, / That cannot ſo much as a bloſſome yeelde"
- "That man is a rotten father."
Etymology
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”). See rot. By surface analysis, rot + -en (past participle).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: roten, rotinn, *rutāną
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɹɑtn̩/
- British English: /ˈɹɒtn̩/
Usage
- Australian usage
- British usage
- Slang