*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of tatty

Clipping of potato + -y.

4 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A potato.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of potato + -y.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "potato"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of potato"
    },
    {
      "name": "suffix",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "",
        "3": "y<id:diminutive>"
      },
      "expansion": "+ -y"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "potato",
      "potato#English"
    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English:_diminutive"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A potato."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Geordie",
        "Northern-England",
        "Scotland"
      ],
      "recordId": "f585a3a7d1eef435f6974ae6fcb89398080f3cc1d0bf177ec373e4b97ad36f20",
      "rawRecordSha256": "66f8cde4e314a36a2c9a0d080dce53f226db4a4ded0a4ffad6653519001fa55d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 351915
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adj

Tattered; dilapidated, distressed, worn-out, torn.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From tatter + -y.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "suffix",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tatter",
        "3": "y<id:adjectival>"
      },
      "expansion": "tatter + -y"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tatter",
      "tatter#English"
    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English:_adjectival"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Tattered; dilapidated, distressed, worn-out, torn."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "219440c204194600f235c1c51e53274a2bd38f4fa6b59866e898b34ff8d42780",
      "rawRecordSha256": "24f997ff732dd06b92c9a20000d40fa2782d02c9a7bc4636eb10e6198eb7d3a0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 351916
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A woven mat or screen hung at a door or window and kept wet to moisten and cool the air as it enters.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Hindi [Term?].

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hi"
      },
      "expansion": "Hindi [Term?]"
    }
  ],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A woven mat or screen hung at a door or window and kept wet to moisten and cool the air as it enters."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "India"
      ],
      "recordId": "9f5da9d7b70a4508c0215ccb705acb529ef4e6889a60a346c3f1531da7f92adf",
      "rawRecordSha256": "aab466095447de9394d76da213ee91d125c8736aaa2fe9b51621b4f0bd927dd6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 351917
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗
noun

Alternative form of tat (“tattoo”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From tat + -y.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "suffix",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tat",
        "3": "y<id:diminutive>"
      },
      "expansion": "tat + -y"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tat",
      "tat#English"
    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English:_diminutive"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of tat (“tattoo”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "uncommon"
      ],
      "recordId": "5096828d03058adbf083e155ef8392e34aab9aff1d6a1e5f632ae32ebbc8aaab",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e8a4ee52b9f8c9ddbef5aaebf56c08892416acdc3f61a7897e32a30d71fff571",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 351919
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for tatty →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dGF0dHk