tatty¹

[tat-ee]

See more synonyms for tatty on Thesaurus.com

adjective, tat·ti·er, tat·ti·est.

cheap or tawdry; vulgar: a tatty production of a Shakespearean play.
shabby or ill-kempt; ragged; untidy: an old house with dirty windows and tatty curtains.

Origin of tatty¹

1505–15; tat rag (probably back formation from tatter¹) + -y¹

Related formstat·ti·ly, adverbtat·ti·ness, noun

tatty²

or tat·tie

[tat-ee]

noun, plural tat·ties.

(in India) a screen, usually made of coarse, fragrant fibers, placed over a window or door and kept moistened with water in order to cool and deodorize the room.

Origin of tatty²

First recorded in 1785–95, tatty is from the Hindi word ṭaṭṭī

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tatty

Contemporary Examples

Amidst the detritus of old amplifiers, beaten up electric guitars and drum kits was a tatty white plastic bag.
The Lost Madonna Tapes
Andrew Morton
October 20, 2008

Historical Examples

Then Tatty sat down and wept, and a three-legged stool said: "Tatty, why do you weep?"
Childhood's Favorites and Fairy Stories
Various
Then Tatty sat down and wept; then a three-legged stool said: "Tatty, why do you weep?"
Children's Literature
Charles Madison Curry
Titty and Tatty are among the many rhyming compounds of which the meaning is no longer clear.
Comparative Studies in Nursery Rhymes
Lina Eckenstein
"Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse" also ends in a universal calamity which seems to arise from a cause of no great importance.
English Fairy Tales
Anonymous
Titty Mouse gleaned an ear of corn, and Tatty Mouse gleaned an ear of corn.
English Fairy Tales
Flora Annie Steel

British Dictionary definitions for tatty

tatty

adjective -tier or -tiest

mainly British worn out, shabby, tawdry, or unkempt

Derived Formstattily, adverbtattiness, noun

Word Origin

C16: of Scottish origin, probably related to Old English tættec a tatter

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 tatty

adj.

1510s, "tangled or matted" (of hair), Scottish, probably related to Old English tættec "a rag" (see tatter). Sense of "tattered, ragged, shabby" first recorded 1933.

tatty.css-pdubzd{font-size:17px;vertical-align:super;}1

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}tatty1

tatty2

or tat·tie

Origin of tatty2

Examples from the Web for tatty

Contemporary Examples

Amidst the detritus of old amplifiers, beaten up electric guitars and drum kits was a tatty white plastic bag.

Historical Examples

Then Tatty sat down and wept, and a three-legged stool said: "Tatty, why do you weep?"

Then Tatty sat down and wept; then a three-legged stool said: "Tatty, why do you weep?"

Titty and Tatty are among the many rhyming compounds of which the meaning is no longer clear.

"Titty Mouse and Tatty Mouse" also ends in a universal calamity which seems to arise from a cause of no great importance.

Titty Mouse gleaned an ear of corn, and Tatty Mouse gleaned an ear of corn.