granny
or gran·nie
[gran-ee]
- Informal. a grandmother.
- an elderly woman.
- a fussy person.
- Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a nurse or midwife.
- granny knot.
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- of, relating to, or thought to be like a grandmother or an elderly or old-fashioned woman: granny notions about what's proper.
- (of clothing for women or girls) being loose-fitted and having such features as high necklines, puff sleeves, long skirts, and ruffles and lace trimmings: a granny blouse; a granny nightgown.
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Origin of granny
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
matriarchancestorgrannygrandmadowagergramsquarefogystick-in-the-mudfusspotdotardmotherfussbudgetExamples from the Web for granny
Contemporary Examples
I was aware of it when I was a girl and I often asked Granny about it, but she was very quiet and never said anything.
My Granny the Escort concludes with two of the women reaching a crossroads of sorts.
‘My Granny The Escort’: Meet 85-Year-Old Sheila Vogel-Coupe, Britain’s Oldest ProstituteMarlow Stern
June 3, 2014
Unlike his granny, Harry does carry cash, and paid for his own ticket and those of his staff.
"He called me granny," the actress told Kate, according to a report on Sky News.
Harry had better come back with a clean chin or else granny will not be pleased.
Historical Examples
So I will, plase your honour, my lard; sure I've a right to know, for she's my own granny.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
Oh, how glad you must have felt when you saw him home again, safe and sound, dear granny.
Georgie's PresentMiss Brightwell
Granny signs to the Colonel and he immediately says, with remarkable cunning, 'Oh—that!
Echoes of the WarJ. M. Barrie
He looks triumphantly at granny as much as to say, 'Observe me; I'm not going to say a word about him.'
Echoes of the WarJ. M. Barrie
Granny signs to them to go, and Barbara, kisses both the Colonel's hands.
Echoes of the WarJ. M. Barrie
granny
grannie
- informal words for grandmother
- informal an irritatingly fussy person
- a revolving cap on a chimneypot that keeps out rain, etc
- Southern US a midwife or nurse
- See granny knot
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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 granny
n.
1660s, according to OED, most likely a diminutive and contraction of grannam, shortened form of grandame, rather than from grandmother. The sailor's granny knot (by 1803, originally granny's knot, so called because "it is the natural knot tied by women or landsmen" [Smyth, "Sailor's Word-Book," 1867]. Granny Smith apples (1895) named for Maria Ann Smith (d.1870) of Australia, who originated them.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper