garbage
UK: ˈɡɑːbɪdʒ | US: ˈɡɑːrbɪdʒ
n. waste material or unwanted things that are discarded
n. worthless or meaningless ideas, talk, or writing
n. (computing) data stored in memory but no longer needed
garbage = garb<refuse, old clothes> + age<noun suffix denoting collection or state>
- garb (from Old French garbe meaning "sheaf of wheat," later generalized to "refuse" or "discarded material")
- age (a suffix forming nouns indicating a collection or state, from Latin -aticum)
Etymology Origin:
The word "garbage" originated in late Middle English, initially referring to the offal of animals or discarded parts of butchered livestock. It evolved from Old French garbe ("sheaf of wheat"), which metaphorically extended to mean "waste" or "refuse." The suffix -age was added to denote a collective or state, solidifying its modern meaning as "discarded material." Over time, "garbage" expanded to include general waste and, metaphorically, worthless ideas or data.
The city collects garbage every Monday morning.
His essay was full of grammatical errors and intellectual garbage.
Don’t believe everything you read online—there’s a lot of garbage out there.
The computer’s performance slowed down due to garbage accumulating in memory.
She sorted the recyclables from the regular garbage.