tatty

tatty
tatty1
tattily, adv.tattiness, n.
/tat"ee/, adj., tattier, tattiest.
1. cheap or tawdry; vulgar: a tatty production of a Shakespearean play.
2. shabby or ill-kempt; ragged; untidy: an old house with dirty windows and tatty curtains.
[1505-15; tat rag (prob. back formation from TATTER1) + -Y1]
tatty2
/tat"ee/, n., pl. tatties.
(in India) a screen, usually made of coarse, fragrant fibers, placed over a window or door and kept moistened with water in order to cool and deodorize the room.
Also, tattie.
[1785-95; < Hindi tatti]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Tatty — Tat ty, n.; pl. {Tatties}. [Hind. [.t]a[.t][.t][imac].] A mat or screen of fibers, as of the kuskus grass, hung at a door or window and kept wet to moisten and cool the air as it enters. [India] [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tatty — Nom rare porté dans le Rhône, plus fréquent sous la forme Taty (69, 15, 23). Autre variante : Tati (01, 69). C est, comme Tatin (38 notamment) le diminutif du nom de personne d origine germanique Tato (racine tat = action), qui a donné les… …   Noms de famille

  • tatty — 1510s, tangled or matted (of hair), Scottish, probably related to O.E. tættec a rag (see TATTER (Cf. tatter)). Sense of tattered, ragged, shabby first recorded 1933 …   Etymology dictionary

  • tatty — ► ADJECTIVE (tattier, tattiest) informal ▪ worn and shabby; in poor condition. DERIVATIVES tattily adverb tattiness noun. ORIGIN from Old English, «rag»; related to TATTERED(Cf. ↑tattered) …   English terms dictionary

  • tatty — [tat′ē] adj. tattier, tattiest [prob. < OE taetteca, a rag, akin to ON töturr, TATTER] [Chiefly Brit.] shabby, decrepit, or tawdry tattily adv. tattiness n …   English World dictionary

  • tatty — [[t]tæ̱ti[/t]] ADJ GRADED If you describe something as tatty, you think it is untidy, rather dirty, and looks as if it has not been cared for. [mainly BRIT] There were a lot of guest houses which were very tatty. ...a very tatty old bathrobe. Syn …   English dictionary

  • tatty — tat|ty [ˈtæti] adj comparative tattier superlative tattiest [Date: 1900 2000; Origin: tat dirty or torn piece of cloth (19 20 centuries)] informal in bad condition = ↑shabby ▪ tatty jeans ▪ a few tatty old chairs >tattily adv …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • tatty — adjective tattier, tattiest informal especially BrE untidy or in a bad condition; shabby: tatty jeans | a few tatty old chairs tattily adverb tattiness noun (C) …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • tatty — UK [ˈtætɪ] / US adjective Word forms tatty : adjective tatty comparative tattier superlative tattiest informal old and in bad condition …   English dictionary

  • tatty — adjective (tattier; est) Etymology: perhaps akin to Old English tætteca rag more at tatter Date: 1513 rather worn, frayed, or dilapidated ; shabby < a tatty shirt > • tattiness noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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