tattered
[tat-erd]
- torn to tatters; ragged: a tattered flag.
- wearing ragged clothing: a tattered old man.
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Origin of tattered
tatter1
[tat-er]
- a torn piece hanging loose from the main part, as of a garment or flag.
- a separate torn piece; shred.
- tatters, torn or ragged clothing: dressed in rags and tatters.
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- to tear or wear to tatters.
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- to become ragged.
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Origin of tatter1
1375–1425; (noun) late Middle English < Old Norse tǫturr rag, tatter; akin to Old English tætteca rag, shred; (v.) back formation from tattered
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tattered
Contemporary Examples
He wears his characteristic white shalwar kameez with a tattered gray waistcoat.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban ValleyMatt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman
November 15, 2014
They have the tattoos, the face paint, and the tattered clothes, and they hold the door for people and say “thank you.”
The works are shown sequentially, opening with the original photo of Freud in all its tattered glory.
Instead of playing the young anti-Christ, he now wears a tattered robe and helps deliver the baby, who is no longer real.
The House of Shock Is Terrifying Its Guests and Causing Controversy—and the Zombies Who Run the Show Are Loving ItTyler Gillespie
October 25, 2013
They called the tattered blue garments from which their eyes peered out through net material “their prisons.”
Historical Examples
After coming out of the press, how many have handled this tattered volume?
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
The lad had never previously worn anything but a tattered blouse.
The Fat and the ThinEmile Zola
I then held out to her the pamphlet, in all its tattered condition.
Everything we had was tattered and torn; and had to be patched and repaired somehow.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)William Delisle Hay
The Italian fingered his tattered hat, his eyes on the ground.
St. Martin's SummerRafael Sabatini
tattered
- ragged or worna tattered old book
- wearing ragged or torn clothingtattered refugees
- damaged, defeated, or in disarrayhe believes he can bring the tattered party together
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tatter
- to make or become ragged or worn to shreds
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- (plural) torn or ragged pieces, esp of material
- in tatters
- torn to pieces; in shreds
- destroyed or ruined
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Word Origin
C14: of Scandinavian origin; compare Icelandic töturr rag, Old English tættec, Old High German zæter rag
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 tattered
tatter
v.
mid-14c., "clad in slashed garments," from Old Norse toturr "rag," cognate with Old English tættec, tætteca "rag, tatter," Low German tater "tatter." The noun is attested from c.1400.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper