# trash, rubbish



## ThomasK

After reading about taking out the trash, I would like to focus on the structure of your "trash", "rubbish". Of the word, of course. ;-)

Dutch:
- *afval* (off-fall, lit.)
- *vuilnis* (dirtiness, dirty things, lit.)

- *prullen* (as in _prullenmand_, [some kind of] office waste basket): prullen are just unimportant things, not rubbish as such

By the way: English "rubbish" and "trash" seem hard to explain etymologically. Maybe one has a common root with "rubble", and "trash" might be of Scandinavian origin. _(I would not be surprised if more of these words have an unclear origin --- There is something similar with certain noise words, I think...)_


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## Dymn

Catalan:
- _*escombraries *_(pl.) (from _escombrar_, 'to sweep', from _escombra _'broom')
- _*brossa *_(unclear etymology, but it can also mean 'brushwood' or 'speck' as in 'speck in the eye')
- _*deixalles *_(pl.) (from _deixar _'to leave')

Spanish:
- _*basura *_(from Latin _versura_, from _verrere _'to sweep' (cf. Spanish _barrer_))
- *desperdicios *(pl.) (from _desperdiciar _'to waste, squander', from Latin _disperdere _'to spoil, ruin')


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## apmoy70

Greek:

*«Σκουπίδι, -ια»* [skuˈpiði] (neut. nom. sing.), [skuˈpið͡ʝa] (neut. nom. pl.) --> _garbage, trash_ < ByzGr neut. *«σκουπίδιν» skoupídin* --> lit. _the removed dust, dirt with a broom_ < ByzGr fem. *«σκούπα» skoúpa* < Lat. scōpa, _broom_.
*«Απόρριμα, -ματα»* [aˈpoɾima] (neut. nom. sing.), [apoˈɾimata] (neut. nom. pl.) --> _junk, rubbish_ < ByzGr deverbal neut noun *«ἀπόῤῥιμα» apórrhima* --> lit. _anything thrown away, put away, rejected, disowned, outcast_ < Classical v. *«ἀποῤῥίπτω» ăpŏrrʰíptō* --> _to throw away, put away, reject, disown_ < compound; Classical prefix and preposition *«ἀπό» apó* --> _far away, away from_ (PIE *h₂epo- _from_ cf Skt. अप (apa), _away_, Hitt. āppa-, _after_) + Classical v. *«ῥίπτω» rʰíptō* --> _to throw, hurl, thrust, bolt_ (with obscure etymology, although the Proto-Germanic *wrībaną > Dt. wrijven matches formally with the Gr ϝρῑπ- > ϝρῐπ- > ῥίπτω).
*«Απόβλητο, -τα»* [aˈpovlito] (neut. nom. sing.), [aˈpovlita] (neut. nom. pl.) --> _waste_ < Classical neut. deverbal nominal *«ἀπόβλητον» ăpóblētŏn* --> lit. _thrown away/aside, worthless, waste_ < Classical v. *«ἀποβάλλω» ăpŏbállō*
--> _to throw/cast away_ < compound; Classical prefix and preposition *«ἀπό» apó* (see above) + Classical v. *«βάλλω» bállō* --> _to throw, hit by throwing_ (PIE *gʷelh₁- _to hit by throwing_ with no certain cognates in IE languages).


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## ger4

ThomasK said:


> Dutch:
> - *afval* (off-fall, lit.)
> - *vuilnis* (dirtiness, dirty things, lit.)


German:
- _*Abfall*_ ('off-fall', as in Dutch)
- *Müll* *

* According to www.dwds.de and etymonline, German _Müll_ seems to be derived from:
- mulle, mul (Middle High German 'dust, loose soil')
- (gi)mulli (Old H. G., 'something that has been ground')
- mullan < malan (Old H.G. 'to grind', compare English 'mill')
- *mel (PIE 'soft')


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## ThomasK

I think the French 'déchet' must have a similar origin as all these 'off'-words: 'dé' + 'jeter', to throw, I guess...


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## bibax

Czech:

*odpad* (verbal noun: prefix od- = ab-, padati = to fall; a calque from German Abfall);
*smetí* (verbal noun: prefix s- = con-, mésti = to sweep, to broom by the broom);


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## ThomasK

I suppose the /smeti/ refers to the result of sweeping (away ?), something like: the things that have been swept. Correct? Could it then be the same as dust  (e.g. originally)? 

But I suppose 'dust' is not dirty/ trash as such.


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## ger4

That would be quite similar to German _Kehricht_  (< kehren = to sweep). I'd associate it with 'dust' but in some regions  of southern  Germany and Switzerland _Kehricht_ seems to have a more general meaning (trash, garbage)... Did the English noun 'dust' perhaps also have a broader meaning originally? I was thinking of expressions like 'dustbin' and 'dustmen' in (British) English...


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## ThomasK

We don't have something like 'veegsel' (lit. sweepings) in Dutch. But indeed, I think *'stof' *(Staub) is often quite general: anything dusty, like old things, I guess.

I wonder whether *'filth'* and *'dirt'* (both referring to the intrinsic quality, filthy, dirty, I think) are not lacking in the title.


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## Armas

Finnish

*roska*, mostly pl. *roskat* "litter, trash, rubbish" < probably Swedish _rosk_ "filth, garbage"
*jäte*, often pl. *jätteet* "waste, garbage, rubbish" < _jättää_ "to leave"


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## ThomasK

This 'jäte' reminds me of 'afval/ Abfall', but I'd consider the Finnish (and French _déchet_) more logical: things (that have been) thrown away, not just things fall, etc. As a matter of fact, we call our society a _weg-werp-maatschappij_, a '*throw-away-society'*...


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## ilocas2

Czech:

*odpadky*


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## Sardokan1.0

Sardinian (northern) : _alga_
Sardinian (southern) : _àliga_

from Latin "alga" : valueless thing


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## Dib

ThomasK said:


> I think the French 'déchet' must have a similar origin as all these 'off'-words: 'dé' + 'jeter', to throw, I guess...



No, actually. It's from "dé-choir", i.e. same as ab-fallen (to fall down). I think the most tell-tale early attestation is here:
DÉCHET : Définition de DÉCHET


> 1328-42 _dechiet_ « quantité qui est perdue dans l'emploi d'un produit » (_Renart le contrefait,_ 26483 ds T.-L.)


i.e. the early meaning seems to be "quantity which is lost from something during its usage".

So, it looks likely that its a calque one way (Germanic -> French) or the other (French -> Germanic). I suspect it's the first.

Btw. English "offal" has the same Germanic etymology, though the meaning has specialized in a different direction.


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## Dib

Bengali:

The most specific words are:
1) "aborjona/আবর্জনা", a (pseudo-?)Sanskrit loanword (< āvarjanā), built on the basis of the causative Sanskrit verb "varjayati" = "he abandons". Its meaning tilts towards "refuse (noun), waste".
2) "jɔnjal/জঞ্জাল" which tilts towards "clutter and garbage". Etymology?

However, very commonly used is also simply "noŋra/নোংরা", literally "dirt(y)" in day-to-day language.


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## mataripis

Tagalog has words Kalat and Sukal for trash and rubbles.The common trash is basura found outside the house.


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## Nino83

Italian: spazzatura, immondizia (from _immondo_ (dirty) + _izia_ (-ness))
Romanesco: monnezza
Sicilian: munnizza


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## 123xyz

Macedonian:

*ѓубре* (from a Turkish word meaning "fertilizer") - garbage, trash, rubbish, fertilizer, a strong insult addressed at someone perceived to be worthless
*отпад* (same etymology as its Czech counterpart) - waste, worthless material
*отпадок* (the above + a singulative suffix of sorts) - a single item of garbage, mostly in the phrase "корпа за отпадоци", meaning "bin"
*смет* (same etymology as its Czech counterpart) - same as ѓубре minus the meaning "fertilizer", but dated/dialectal


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## ilocas2

ilocas2 said:


> Czech:
> 
> *odpadky*



For clarification - this is plural, singular is *odpadek* and it's counterpart of Macedonian *отпадок*.

It's normally used, not just in "koš na odpadky" (waste/litter bin).


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## Awwal12

In Russian it's *мусор* "músor". Its very origin is disputable. Probably Turkic.


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## ilocas2

In Serbian it's mutually intelligible with Macedonian:

*đubre
otpad
otpadak
smeće*


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## igusarov

Awwal12 said:


> In Russian it's *мусор* "músor".


Apart from this word which is indeed the most common in everyday talks, there are a few "off" words too. Prefix "от-" means direction away from the speaker:

"*отходы*" [ɐtˈxodɨ] = literally it is composed as "off-goings".
This is a rather neutral form used for "trash" in official documents. Such documents often use abbreviated form "ТБО" = "твёрдые бытовые отходы" = "solid household <trash>". It is also used in the context of factories and production. For example, this is what you call useless lumps of metal left after cutting some shape from an iron sheet.

"*отбросы*" [ɐdˈbrosɨ] = literal etymology "away-throwns".
This one has a strong negative connotation. Can be used figuratively, e.g. idiom "trash of the society" can be used to denote commonly disaproved people like alcoholics and drug addicts.

"*помои*" [pɐˈmoɪ] = literal etymology "after-washings".
This one is for liquid trash, like water left after being used to wash something in it. Surprisingly, "помойка" [pɐˈmoɪ̯kə] is a colloquial name for a public location where all kinds of _solid_ trash is accumulated before being moved to city dump.


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## Awwal12

igusarov said:


> "*отходы*" [ɐtˈxodɨ] = literally it is composed as "off-goings".
> This is a rather neutral form used for "trash" in official documents. Such documents often use abbreviated form "ТБО" = "твёрдые бытовые отходы" = "solid household <trash>". It is also used in the context of factories and production. For example, this is what you call useless lumps of metal left after cutting some shape from an iron sheet.
> 
> "*отбросы*" [ɐdˈbrosɨ] = literal etymology "away-throwns".
> This one has a strong negative connotation. Can be used figuratively, e.g. idiom "trash of the society" can be used to denote commonly disaproved people like alcoholics and drug addicts.
> 
> "*помои*" [pɐˈmoɪ] = literal etymology "after-washings".
> This one is for liquid trash, like water left after being used to wash something in it. Surprisingly, "помойка" [pɐˈmoɪ̯kə] is a colloquial name for a public location where all kinds of _solid_ trash is accumulated before being moved to city dump.


Well, *отходы* is more about wastes than about trash & rubbish. *Отбросы* also means either industrial wastes or food leavings, pigwillings etc. And *помои* are just dishwater, pigwash, draff, stuff like that.


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## bibax

igusarov said:


> "*помои*" [pɐˈmoɪ] = literal etymology "after-washings".
> This one is for liquid trash, like water left after being used to wash something in it.


I forgot *pomyje* (plur.) = dishwater, slops. Rarely used nowadays, it used to be a problem in the cities without a sewerage system (canalization), pomyje usually ended on the streets.

*splašky* (plur.), *odpadní vody* = sewage, Abwasser (in official documents).


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## ilocas2

What follows from my posts in this thread is

Czech:

*smetí* (counterpart of Macedonian *смет* and Serbian *smeće*)
*odpad* (counterpart of Macedonian *отпад* and Serbian *otpad*)
*odpadky* (singular *odpadek*, counterpart of Macedonian *отпадок* and Serbian *otpadak*)


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## Messquito

Chinese:
垃圾：
垃＝土(dust;soil), 立(stand, build up)＝to stack up dust
圾＝土＋及(reach)＝to collect the "dust"
廢棄物＝wasted, abadoned stuff


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## jazyk

The most general word for trash in Portuguese is lixo.


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## Gavril

Icelandic has at least two terms for “trash, garbage, rubbish”:


_*sorp*_ “garbage, refuse” (more formal/technical; used in legal documents, in announcements about municipal garbage collection, etc.)

_*rusl*_ “junk, garbage” (more colloquial; can also be used to mean “something useless / of poor quality”)

The more general term for “waste” is _úrgangur_ (_úr_- “from, out of”, -_gangur_ “going”).


Etymological info: _rusl_ is thought to be related to various terms meaning “collapse” or similar: Icelandic _rúst_ “collapsed building/structure”, Latin _ruere_ “to fall violently, to tumble down” (the source of Eng. _ruin_), etc.; _sorp _may be related to _syrpa _“collection, (random) assortment”, the shared meaning perhaps being “to throw (randomly) together”


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## Encolpius

*Hungarian*: 
*szemét *[1086; Slavic origin] - the standard word with a negative connotation; (Te szemét! (you "rubbish") is a way calling a bad person)
*hulladék *[1508; from the verb hull - to fall] a little bit formal


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## Nizo

Esperanto:

*rubo* rubbish, trash, garbage (for household waste, rubbish is more common in British English while garbage/trash are more common in American English); rubble
- _rubaĵo_ a piece of rubbish/trash/garbage/rubble
- _rubejo_ a dump; a rubbish dump/heap/tip; garbage/trash dump
- _rubujo_ a trash/garbage can; rubbish bin

*defalaĵo* (from the verb _fali_, to fall) waste matter, detritus (pieces of material that fall to the ground from work such as carpentry - shavings, etc.); anything that should be thrown away/disposed of
- _radioaktivaj defalaĵoj_ (radioactive fallout)
- _plantaj defalaĵoj_ (plant litter, litterfall)

*forĵetaĵo* (from the verb _ĵeti_, to throw) something that has been thrown away; litter


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