squalidness

squalid (ˈskwɒlɪd)

—*adj*
1.	dirty and repulsive, esp as a result of neglect or poverty
2.	sordid

[C16: from Latin squālidus, from squālēre to be stiff with dirt]

squalidity

—n

'squalidness

—n

'squalidly

—*adv*

squalid (ˈskwɒlɪd)

—*adj*
1.	dirty and repulsive, esp as a result of neglect or poverty
2.	sordid

[C16: from Latin squālidus, from squālēre to be stiff with dirt]

squalidity

—n

'squalidness

—n

'squalidly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

squalid

1591, from M.Fr. squalide, from L. squalidus "rough, coated with dirt, filthy," related to squales "filth," squalus "filthy," squalare "be covered with a rough, scaly layer, be coated with dirt, be filthy," of uncertain origin.

Matching Quote

"It is a mistake to suppose that, in a country where the usual evidences of civilization exist, the condition of a very large body of inhabitants may not be as degraded as that of savages. I refer to the degraded poor, not now to the degraded rich. To know this I should not need to look farther than to the shanties which everywhere border our railroads, that last improvement in civilization; where I see in my daily walks human beings living in sties, and all winter with an open door, for the sake of light, without any visible, often imaginable, wood-pile, and the forms of both old and young are permanently contracted by the long habit of shrinking from cold and misery, and the development of all their limbs and faculties is checked.... Such too, to a greater or less extent, is the condition of the operatives of every denomination in England, which is the great workhouse of the world. Or I could refer you to Ireland, which is marked as one of the white or enlightened spots on the map. Contrast the physical condition of the Irish with that of the North American Indian, or the South Sea Islander, or any other savage race before it was degraded by contact with the civilized man. Yet I have no doubt that that people's rulers are as wise as the average of civilized rulers. Their condition only proves what squalidness may consist with civilization."

-Henry David Thoreau

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squalid