tatty

¹ American  

[tat-ee] / ˈtæt i /

adjective

tattier, tattiest

1. cheap or tawdry; vulgar.

   a tatty production of a Shakespearean play.

2. shabby or ill-kempt; ragged; untidy.

   an old house with dirty windows and tatty curtains.

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tatty ² American  

[tat-ee] / ˈtæt i /

Or tattie

noun

tatties plural

1. (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.

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tatty British  

/ ˈtætɪ /

adjective

1. worn out, shabby, tawdry, or unkempt

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Other Word Forms

• tattily
  adverb
• tattiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of tatty¹

1505–15; tat rag (probably back formation from tatter ¹ ) + -y ¹

Origin of tatty²

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

Example Sentences

They got out with Tatty Jane the dog and Helen the parrot, but had to leave behind the chickens and goldfish that lived in their backyard.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2025

While social distancing, Rosie Wolfenden and Harriet Vine, the designers behind Tatty Devine jewellery, are doing daily making challenges.

From The Guardian • Mar. 31, 2020

Two gifted young musicians, twins named Charlotte and Sonja, dazzle crowds playing their instruments in a vaguely Victorian traveling circus alongside their sort-of adoptive mother, a tattooed lady named Tatty.

From Time • Dec. 3, 2015

The UK company Tatty Devine started with two designers making jewellery from found objects and selling them at markets.

From BBC • Jun. 26, 2012

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

From Childhood's Favorites and Fairy Stories The Young Folks Treasury, Volume 1 by Hale, Edward Everett