dirtful

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English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From dirt +‎ -ful.

Adjective[edit]

dirtful (comparative more dirtful, superlative most dirtful)

  1. (rare) Characterised by dirt or dirtiness; dirty
    • 1985, Barbara Guest, Herself Defined: The Poet H.D. and Her World, page 213:
      She also added that "So far I have contributed to the occult and arcane and most secret gayety of nations BUT you know you must be careful as papa is most slimely dirtful and says, 'now you have been so frank with me, I will be frank with you between ourselves' and out comes some scrap of flea morsel."
    • 1993, Rózsa Hajnóczy, William Radice, Fire Of Bengal, page 37:
      India very hot, very dirtful.

Etymology 2[edit]

From dirt +‎ -ful.

Noun[edit]

dirtful (plural dirtfuls)

  1. An amount of dirt
    • 1997, Imre Kertész, Kaddish for a child not born, page 5:
      It's not that these reasons worry me - after all, they are all my own doing, each like a dig with the spade in the process of digging, dirtful by dirtful, that deep ditch which I have to dig consistently and eternally so that it may be, []
    • 2000, Alfred Shands, Border crossing: connecting the secular and the sacred, page 88:
      Actually, the work became one of personal pride, and each dirtful was carefully laid on the side of the hole until there was a pretty good foxhole being dug.