shab·by

[shab-ee]
adjective, shab·bi·er, shab·bi·est.
1.
impaired by wear, use, etc.; worn: shabby clothes.
2.
showing conspicuous signs of wear or neglect: The rooms on the upper floors of the mansion had a rather shabby appearance, as if they had not been much in use of late.
3.
wearing worn clothes or having a slovenly or unkempt appearance: a shabby person.
4.
run-down, seedy, or dilapidated: a shabby hotel.
5.
meanly ungenerous or unfair; contemptible, as persons, actions, etc.: shabby behavior.
6.
inferior; not up to par in quality, performance, etc.: a shabby rendition of the sonata.

Origin:
1660–70; shab (Middle English; Old English sceabb scab) + -y1; cognate with German schäbig

shab·bi·ly, adverb
shab·bi·ness, noun
un·shab·bi·ly, adverb
un·shab·by, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To shabby
00:10
Shabby is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Collins
World English Dictionary
shabby (ˈʃæbɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj , -bier, -biest
1.  threadbare or dilapidated in appearance
2.  wearing worn and dirty clothes; seedy
3.  mean, despicable, or unworthy: shabby treatment
4.  dirty or squalid
 
[C17: from Old English sceabbscab + -y1]
 
'shabbily
 
adv
 
'shabbiness
 
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

shabby
1669, from shab "scab" (now only dial., in ref. to a disease of sheep), from O.E. sceabb (see scab), with sound change as described in sh-. Cf. M.Du. schabbich, Ger. schäbig "shabby." Shabby-genteel "run-down but trying to keep up appearances" first recorded 1754.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
It's a really shabby way for the government to treat these guys who were drafted.
The memorials are still magnificent, but the park grounds are looking shabby.
It grieves for lost influence, or fears the imminent loss of influence, and it shudders at an increasingly shabby present.
The eighth district has become a magnet for trendy bohemians, mixing soulful chic and shabby bourgeois.
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