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dotty1

[dot-ee]
See more synonyms for dotty on Thesaurus.com
adjective, dot·ti·er, dot·ti·est. Informal.
  1. crazy or eccentric.
  2. feeble or unsteady in gait.
  3. very enthusiastic or infatuated (usually followed by about or over).
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Origin of dotty1

1805–15; perhaps dott(ard) variant of dotard + -y1
Related formsdot·ti·ly, adverbdot·ti·ness, noun

dotty2

[dot-ee]
adjective, dot·ti·er, dot·ti·est.
  1. marked with dots; dotted.
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Origin of dotty2

First recorded in 1805–15; dot1 + -y1
Related formsdot·ti·ness, noun

Dottie

or Dot·ty

[dot-ee]
noun
  1. a female given name, form of Dorothea and Dorothy.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

absurd, daft, demented, disturbed, eccentric, foolish, goofy, loony, nuts, nutty, odd, peculiar, queer, ridiculous, strange, twisted, unconventional, weird

Examples from the Web for dotty

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Dotty was giving an extra touch to her chignon, and Prudy trying on her cap.

  • "There, she's lost her senses; I knew she would," said Dotty, walking the floor.

  • "We thought last night she was in danger of her life," said Dotty.

  • Dotty stood gazing with surprise, and almost forgetting her trouble.

  • Dotty tried hard to comfort herself, but could not stay comforted.

British Dictionary definitions for dotty

dotty

adjective -tier or -tiest
  1. slang, mainly British feeble-minded; slightly crazy
  2. British slang (foll by about) extremely fond (of)
  3. marked with dots
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Derived Formsdottily, adverbdottiness, noun

Word Origin

C19: from dot 1 : sense development of 1 from meaning of "unsteady on one's feet"
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dotty

adj.

1812, "full of dots," from dot (n.) + -y (2). Meaning "silly" is from c.1400, in dotypolle "dotty poll" (i.e. "dotty head"), in which case the first element is from dote (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper