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frumpy

[ fruhm-pee ]
/ ˈfrʌm pi /
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adjective, frump·i·er, frump·i·est.

frumpish.

RELATED WORDS

baggy, dingy, drab, dull, homely, old-fashioned, outdated, plain, shabby, sloppy, stodgy, unfashionable, unkempt, frumpish, blowsy

Nearby words

  1. frumentaceous,
  2. frumentius,
  3. frumenty,
  4. frumious,
  5. frump,
  6. frunze,
  7. frusemide,
  8. frustrate,
  9. frustrated,
  10. frustrating

Origin of frumpy

First recorded in 1740–50; frump + -y1
Related formsfrump·i·ly, adverbfrump·i·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for frumpy

British Dictionary definitions for frumpy

frumpy

frumpish (ˈfrʌmpɪʃ)

/ (ˈfrʌmpɪ) /

adjective

(of a woman, clothes, etc) dowdy, drab, or unattractive
Derived Formsfrumpily or frumpishly, adverbfrumpiness or frumpishness, noun
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 frumpy

frumpy

adj.

1746, "cross-tempered," from frump (n.) "bad temper" (1660s) and an earlier verb meaning "to mock, browbeat" (1550s), of obscure origin, perhaps imitative of a sneer or derisive snort. Sense of "sour-looking, unfashionable" is from 1825, but this may be a shortening of frumple "to wrinkle, crumple" (late 14c.), from Middle Dutch verrompelen, from ver- "completely" + rompelen "to rumple." Related: Frumps. Cf. also frump.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper