decent
See also: décent
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Middle French décent, or its source, Latin decēns, present participle of decet (“it is fitting or suitable”), from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to take, accept, to receive, greet, be suitable”) (compare Ancient Greek δοκέω (dokéō, “I appear, seem, think”), δέχομαι (dékhomai, “I accept”); Sanskrit दशस्यति (daśasyáti, “shows honor, is gracious”), दाशति (dāśati, “makes offerings, bestows”)). Meaning ‘kind, pleasant’ is from 1902.
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]decent (comparative more decent, superlative most decent)
- Appropriate; suitable for the circumstances.
- (of a person) Having a suitable conformity to basic moral standards; showing integrity, fairness, or other characteristics associated with moral uprightness.
- (informal) Sufficiently clothed or dressed to be seen.
- Are you decent? May I come in?
- Fair; acceptable; okay.
- He's a decent saxophonist, but probably not good enough to make a career of it.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.
- 2021 June 30, Philip Haigh, “Regional trains squeezed as ECML congestion heads north”, in RAIL, number 934, page 53:
- I'm all for opening new stations (Transport Scotland is planning another at East Linton, about halfway between Drem and Dunbar), but they are useless without a decent service.
- Significant; substantial.
- There are a decent number of references out there, if you can find them.
- Conforming to perceived standards of good taste.
- 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 201:
- I had a cup of tea - the last decent cup of tea for many days; and in a room that most soothingly looked just as you would expect a lady’s drawing-room to look, we had a long quiet chat by the fireside.
- (obsolete) Comely; shapely; well-formed.
- a. 1645, John Milton, “Il Penseroso”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 38:
- And ſable ſtole of Cipres Lawn,
Over thy decent ſhoulders drawn.
Usage notes
[edit]- This term has a mildly positive connotation.
Synonyms
[edit]- (conforming suitably to moral standards): good, moral
- (good enough): See Thesaurus:satisfactory
Antonyms
[edit]- (antonym(s) of “conforming suitably to moral standards”): bad, immoral
- (antonym(s) of “sufficiently clothed”): indecent, underdressed
- (antonym(s) of “good enough”): inadequate, poor, unsatisfactory
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]appropriate, suitable for the circumstances
|
showing integrity, fairness, moral uprightness
|
sufficiently clothed
|
fair; good enough; okay
|
significant; substantial
|
References
[edit]- “decent”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Anagrams
[edit]Friulian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]decent
- decent
Latin
[edit]Verb
[edit]decent
Occitan
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Audio: (file)
Adjective
[edit]decent m (feminine singular decenta, masculine plural decents, feminine plural decentas)
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Romanian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from French décent, from Latin decens.
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]decent m or n (feminine singular decentă, masculine plural decenți, feminine and neuter plural decente)
Declension
[edit]| singular | plural | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | |||
| nominative- accusative |
indefinite | decent | decentă | decenți | decente | |||
| definite | decentul | decenta | decenții | decentele | ||||
| genitive- dative |
indefinite | decent | decente | decenți | decente | |||
| definite | decentului | decentei | decenților | decentelor | ||||
Further reading
[edit]- decent in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *deḱ-
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/iːsənt
- Rhymes:English/iːsənt/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English informal terms
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- English terms with quotations
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Personality
- en:Clothing
- Friulian terms derived from Latin
- Friulian lemmas
- Friulian adjectives
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin verb forms
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