Nearby Words

paltry

[pawl-tree] Example Sentences Origin

pal·try

[pawl-tree]
adjective, -tri·er, -tri·est.
1.
ridiculously or insultingly small: a paltry sum.
2.
utterly worthless.
3.
mean or contemptible: a paltry coward.

Origin:
1560–70; < Low German paltrig ragged, equivalent to *palter rag (dialectal German Palter) + -ig -y1

pal·tri·ly, adverb
pal·tri·ness, noun
un·pal·try, adjective

paltry, poultry.


1. minor, inconsiderable, slight, insignificant. See petty.


1. important, major.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Paltry is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Example Sentences
  • According to the association's analysis, categories of workers who received any median salary increases saw only paltry ones.
  • New York's 7.5 million people face a housing market infamous for skyscraper-high prices and paltry options.
  • The result: a tiny screen with 1.4 million pixels, compared with the paltry 200000 on most electronic viewfinders.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
paltry (ˈpɔːltrɪ)
 
adj , -trier, -triest
1.  insignificant; meagre
2.  worthless or petty
 
[C16: from Low Germanic palter, paltrig ragged]
 
'paltrily
 
adv
 
'paltriness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

paltry
1570, probably adj. use of noun paltry "worthless thing" (1556), associated with dial. palt, pelt "trash," cognate with M.L.G. and E.Fris. palte "rag," M.Du. palt "broken or torn fragment." Cf. Low Ger. paltrig "rubbishy," E.Fris. palterig "ragged, torn."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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