dinky
[ding-kee]
adjective, dink·i·er, dink·i·est.
Informal. small, unimportant, unimpressive, or shabby: We stayed in a dinky old hotel.
British Informal. fashionable; well dressed; smart.
noun, plural dink·ies.
Origin of dinky
1780–90; compare Scots dink neatly dressed, trim (of obscure origin); sense shift perhaps: trim > dainty > small > insignificant; see -y1
dinkey
or dink·y
[ding-kee]
noun, plural dink·eys.
Origin of dinkey
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for dinky
trim, petite, miniature, dainty, Lilliputian, minor, secondary, mini, bush-league, insignificant, lesser, neat, small-time, minor-leagueExamples from the Web for dinky
Contemporary Examples of dinky
You think that this tragedy has given you an opportunity to catapult you [sic] dinky blog and newspaper to new heights.
Historical Examples of dinky
And the speed229 he gets out of that dinky little roadster is amazin'.
Torchy and VeeSewell Ford
The dinky engine, with its train of flat-cars, was steaming toward him.
'Firebrand' TrevisonCharles Alden Seltzer
"That's my dinky little religion, dear old Miss Hamilton," said Bones.
The Keepers of the King's PeaceEdgar Wallace
I know you can kill that hawk up there; but not with that dinky little thing.
The Trail Boys on the PlainsJay Winthrop Allen
I know more about artillery than half their dinky West Pointers.
The Wasted GenerationOwen Johnson
dinky
adjective dinkier or dinkiest informal
Word Origin for dinky
C18 (in the sense: dainty): from dink
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper