Link Centre Dictionary

shabby

US/ˈʃæbi/ fairly common informal uk

adjective

1.

showing signs of wear and tear

  • “a ratty old overcoat”
  • “shabby furniture”
  • “an old house with dirty windows and tatty curtains”
Synonyms
Similar
2.

mean and unworthy and despicable

  • “shabby treatment”
Similar

Origin

The adjective is derived from shab (“(obsolete except UK, dialectal) scaly skin disease; skin disease of sheep; crust forming over wound, scab”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). The verb is derived from the adjective. Cognates * Dutch schabbig (“poor, needy, shabby”) * Middle High German schebic (modern German schäbig (“shabby”)) * Middle Low German schabbich (“miserable”) (modern Low German schabbig, schäbbig) * Scots shabby (“in poor health, ill”) * Swedish sjabbig (“shabby, mangy, scruffy”), skabbig (“scabby”)

Phrases

  • shabby chic

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.