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natty

[nat-ee]
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adjective, nat·ti·er, nat·ti·est.
  1. neatly or trimly smart in dress or appearance; spruce: a natty white uniform.
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Origin of natty

1775–85; perhaps variant of neat1 + -y1
Related formsnat·ti·ly, adverbnat·ti·ness, nounnon·nat·ti·ly, adverbnon·nat·ti·ly·ness, nounnon·nat·ty, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for nattily

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Nonchalant, as nattily dressed as ever, Ted Dorrance had appeared in his most effective suit, better looking than ever.

    Betty Lee, Senior

    Harriet Pyne Grove

  • All were well and neatly dressed; many of them nattily, a few of them very stylishly.

    Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion

    Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

  • Clean-shaved, nattily dressed actors come to this quiet purlieu to study their parts.

    Haunted London

    Walter Thornbury

  • He was nattily dressed in a blue cloth coat and trousers, and a white waistcoat.

  • Instead they traveled beyond the nattily clad yachtsmen and rested on the slim figure of the paid hand.

British Dictionary definitions for nattily

natty

adjective -tier or -tiest
  1. informal smart in appearance or dress; spruce; dappera natty outfit
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Derived Formsnattily, adverbnattiness, noun

Word Origin

C18: perhaps from obsolete netty, from net neat 1; compare Old French net trim
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 nattily

natty

adj.

1785, "neat, smart," originally slang, perhaps an altered form of 16c. nettie "neat, natty," from Middle English net "pure, fine, elegant" (see neat). Related: Nattily.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper