mothy

American

[maw-thee, moth-ee] / ˈmɔ θi, ˈmɒθ i /

adjective

mothier, mothiest

containing moths.
moth-eaten.

mothy British

/ ˈmɒθɪ /

adjective

ragged; moth-eaten
containing moths; full of moths

"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

Etymology

Origin of mothy

First recorded in 1590–1600; moth + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Wikipedia’s volunteers, usually sequestered in the mothy recesses of talk pages and admin noticeboards, remain invisible to most readers.

From Slate • Oct. 5, 2023

And in the Folio-only plays there are several very rare words that again are familiar to Florio: "longly", "mothy", "queasines", "roynish".

From The Guardian • Jul. 12, 2013

But the great physicist was also engagingly simple, trading ties and socks for mothy sweaters and sweatshirts.

From Time Magazine Archive

"This mothy one is pretty enough for me," declared Margaret.

From Ethel Morton and the Christmas Ship by Smith, Mabell S. C. (Mabell Shippie Clarke)

The air of prosperity with which he was invested saved him from being seized immediately by one of the bawling salesmen and dragged into the mothy interior of the shop.

From The Substitute Prisoner by Marcin, Max

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023