Squalidities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Characterized by extreme dirtiness or filth, often reflecting a state of neglect or poverty
2. describing conditions marked by moral degradation or a lack of decency
3. relating to places that are both physically and socially unpleasant or degrading

Etymology: "Squalidities" is simply the plural of "squalidity", so it refers to several instances or kinds of squalor: dirty, neglected, miserable conditions. The singular "squalidity" comes from "squalid", which is itself borrowed from Latin "squalidus", meaning rough, stiff, or filthy, and the suffix "-ity" (from Latin "-itas") turns the adjective into a noun for the quality or state of being squalid. Some dictionaries instead treat "squalidity" as a learned borrowing directly from Latin "squāliditās", so the English noun may have arrived by either route. The plural is used when the squalor is seen as a set of separate miseries, such as the filthy rooms, broken sanitation, and neglect that a reformer might list in a single report. The word's underlying sense has stayed close to the Latin: a condition of dirt and roughness, now mostly applied to poverty and grime.

Synonyms: dirtiness, filthiness