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ticălos

scoundrel /ti.kəˈlos/

noun#1025 most common

Also: villain, rascal, wicked (as an adjective)

Example sentences

El este un ticălos.
He is a scoundrel.
Nu fi ticălos cu sora ta!
Don't be so mean to your sister!
Vecinul nostru s-a dovedit a fi un ticălos.
Our neighbor turned out to be a scoundrel.
Ticălosul acela ne-a mințit pe toți de la început.
That scoundrel lied to all of us from the start.
Ticălosule, cum ai putut să faci așa ceva?!
You scoundrel, how could you do such a thing?!
Deși părea un om de treabă, s-a dovedit a fi cel mai ticălos dintre toți slujitorii curții.
Though he seemed like a decent man, he turned out to be the most despicable of all the court's servants.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativeticălosulticăloșii
Genitiveticălosuluiticăloșilor
Accusativeticălosulticăloșii
Vocativeticălosuleticăloșilor

Word family

ticăloasăwicked woman, villainess
ticăloșiscoundrels, villains
ticăloșievillainy, wickedness, a vile act
ticălosuleyou scoundrel! (used as a direct insult)

Etymology

Romanian "ticălos" is generally traced to a Slavic source, and older uses of the word in Romanian carried the sense of "poor" or "wretched" before narrowing to its current moral meaning of "vile" or "villainous." This shift from misfortune to moral blame is common in Balkan languages, where a word for a pitiable person slides into an insult. Dictionaries mark the exact source as uncertain, so no single Slavic form can be cited with confidence.

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