potty

[pot-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR potty ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, pot·ti·er, pot·ti·est.

Chiefly British Informal. slightly insane; eccentric.

British. paltry; trifling; petty.

Origin of potty

First recorded in 1855–60; pot¹ + -y¹

potty

[pot-ee]

noun, plural pot·ties.

a seat of reduced size fitting over a toilet seat, for use by a small child.

a small metal pot fitting under a potty-chair.

Baby Talk. a toilet.

Origin of potty

First recorded in 1840–50; pot¹ + -y²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for potty

crazy, eccentric, nuts, wacky, kooky, mad, batty, foolish, absurd, insane, nutty, silly, latrine, outhouse, lavatory, restroom, pot, screwball, lunatic, cuckoo

Examples from the Web for potty

Contemporary Examples of potty

I mean, just the potty training of octuplets is enough to cause a mind to snap.
Octomom Nadya Suleman Wants to Shed Her Creepy Persona
Maria Elena Fernandez
July 9, 2012
Of course, sexual abuse isn't the same as videotaping a child on the potty.
Jon & Kate Plus 8 Little Victims?
Wendy Murphy
June 15, 2009

Historical Examples of potty

It iss no disgrace whateffer to a potty to give in to Nature.
Strife (First Series Plays)
John Galsworthy
We are fighting for a principle; there is no potty that shall say I am not a peliever in principle.
Strife (First Series Plays)
John Galsworthy
If it goes on much longer I'll be potty if I ain't a gone 'un.
A Student in Arms
Donald Hankey
Potty, Pipes, and Piffle were very real to me, and lived like actual people in that dim garret.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XXII (of 25)
Robert Louis Stevenson
"See haud o' the potty," cries Rob, an' losh, he had the window in afore Cree cud hae cut the glass.
When a Man's Single
J. M. Barrie

British Dictionary definitions for potty

potty

adjective -tier or -tiest British informal

foolish or slightly crazy

trivial or insignificant

(foll by about or on) very keen (about)

Derived Formspottiness, noun

Word Origin for potty

C19: perhaps from pot 1

potty

noun plural -ties

a child's word for chamber pot

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 potty

adj.

"crazy, silly," 1916, slang, of unknown origin, perhaps connected to potter (v.). Earlier slang senses were "easy to manage" (1899) and "feeble, petty" (1860).

1942, child's word for "chamber pot," from pot (n.1). Potty-training is attested from 1958. Potty-mouth "one who uses obscene language" is student slang from 1968.