Dirt Is Another Word With Its Letters Swapped
Dirt is earth or filth. The Old Norse word was drit, and the R moved before the vowel over time.
Dirt is earth, dust or anything unclean. The Old Norse word was *drit*, meaning excrement, and English swapped the R across the vowel to make *dirt* — the same metathesis that turned *brid* into *bird* and *thridda* into *third*. The original sense was far ruder than the modern one. American English uses *dirt* where British English says *soil* or *earth*, which is why a *dirt track* means an unpaved road there and a racing surface here.
- Earth or soil. *A handful of dirt.*
- Filth. *Covered in dirt.*
- Damaging gossip. *Dig up dirt.*
- Dirt cheap — very cheap. *Dirt cheap.*
- Old Norse — *drit*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | dirt | Dirt. |
| Adjective | dirty | Dirty. |
| Verb | dirty | Dirtied. |
| Compound | dirt track | A dirt track. |
| Old Norse | drit | Excrement. |
- His boots were thick with dirt.Filth.
- They drove down a dirt road.American.
- The letters swapped places.Etymology.
Dirt idioms
- Dirt cheap — extremely inexpensive
- Dig up dirt — find damaging information
- Treat like dirt — with contempt
- Hit the dirt — drop flat
- Dish the dirt — spread gossip
Old Norse *drit*, excrement, with the R and vowel swapping places in Middle English.
Where does dirt come from?
Old Norse drit, meaning excrement. English swapped the R across the vowel, the same change that produced bird from brid.
Do Americans and Britons use dirt differently?
Yes. American English uses dirt for soil, so a dirt road is unpaved. British English prefers soil or earth for the ground itself.