Sleazy
/ˈsliːzi/noun
Cheap, shabby, or morally disreputable.
Did you know?The word first meant ‘thin’ or ‘of poor quality,’ likely from a dialectal form related to ‘sleek,’ and only later took on its modern sense of sleaze and moral grime.
Etymological Timeline
Early 17th Century
English
sleazy
“Thin, flimsy, or of poor quality.”
17th-18th Century
English
sleaz(e)
“A thin or flimsy fabric; something shabby or inferior.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*slika- / *slikaz
“Smooth, sleek, or glossy.”
Old English
English
slic
“Sleek, smooth, or glossy.”
Modern English
English
sleazy
“Cheap, shabby, or morally disreputable.”