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dinky

 - 6 dictionary results

dink⋅y

[ding-kee] adjective, dink⋅i⋅er, dink⋅i⋅est, noun, plural dink⋅ies.
–adjective
1. Informal. small, unimportant, unimpressive, or shabby: We stayed in a dinky old hotel.
2. British Informal. fashionable; well dressed; smart.
–noun
3. dinkey.

Origin:
1780–90; cf. Scots dink neatly dressed, trim (of obscure orig.); sense shift perh.: trim > dainty > small > insignificant; see -y 1

dink⋅ey

[ding-kee]
–noun, plural -eys.
a small locomotive, esp. with a switch engine.
Also, dinky.


Origin:
1840–50; n. use of dinky; see -ey 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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din·key also din·ky   (dĭng'kē)   
n.   pl. din·keys also din·kies
A small locomotive used in a railroad yard, as for shunting.

[From dinky.]
din·ky   (dĭng'kē)   
adj.   din·ki·er, din·ki·est Informal
  1. Of small size or consequence; insignificant.

  2. Of poor quality; shabby.

n.  Variant of dinkey.

[Probably from Scots dink, neat, trim.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
dinky [ˈdɪŋki]

  1. mod.
    small; undersized. : I'll take the dinky piece. I'm on a diet.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

dinky 
1788 "neat, trim, dainty, small," from Scot. dialect dink "finely dressed, trim" (1508), of unknown origin. Modern sense is 1850s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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