nitty

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): (modern) /ˈnɪtiː/, (older) /ˈnɪtɪ/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈnɪti/, /-ɾi/ Rhymes: -ɪti Hyphenation: nit‧ty === Etymology 1 === From nit +‎ -y. The “foolish, inane” adjective sense is from nit (“fool, nitwit”), possibly under the influence of nutty (“crazy, mad”). The origin of the noun sense (“dope fiend, druggie”) is unknown, but could refer to a person who is under the influence of drugs to the extent that he or she is careless about personal hygiene and unkempt. Compare the verb nit (“to be a nitty”). ==== Adjective ==== nitty (comparative nittier or more nitty, superlative nittiest or most nitty) (archaic, also figuratively) Full of nits. Synonym: lousy (chiefly British, slang) Foolish, inane. Synonyms: dumb, idiotic; see also Thesaurus:stupid, Thesaurus:foolish ===== Alternative forms ===== nittie (obsolete) ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Noun ==== nitty (plural nitties) (African-American Vernacular, MLE, slang) A dope fiend, a druggie. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:addict ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === Probably from nitty(-gritty). ==== Adjective ==== nitty (comparative nittier or more nitty, superlative nittiest or most nitty) (Excessively) detailed or specific; fastidious, fussy, nit-picky. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fastidious (poker slang) Of a poker player: playing in an overly cautious and reactive manner. ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === A clipping of nitid (“bright, lustrous, shining”), or directly derived from Latin nitidus (“glittering, shining”), from niteō (“to glitter, shine; to look beautiful or bright”) (from Proto-Indo-European *ney- (“to shine”)) + -idus (“tending to”). ==== Adjective ==== nitty (comparative more nitty, superlative most nitty) (obsolete, rare) Shining; elegant, spruce. ===== Translations ===== === References === === Further reading === nitty (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Anagrams === tinty