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tattered

 - 5 dictionary results

tat⋅tered

  [tat-erd]
Use tattered in a Sentence
–adjective
1. torn to tatters; ragged: a tattered flag.
2. wearing ragged clothing: a tattered old man.
Origin:
1300–50; ME; see tatter 1 (n.), -ed 3

tat⋅ter

1  [tat-er]
–noun
1. a torn piece hanging loose from the main part, as of a garment or flag.
2. a separate torn piece; shred.
3. tatters, torn or ragged clothing: dressed in rags and tatters.
–verb (used with object)
4. to tear or wear to tatters.
–verb (used without object)
5. to become ragged.
Origin:
1375–1425; (n.) late ME < ON tǫturr rag, tatter; akin to OE tætteca rag, shred; (v.) back formation from tattered
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tattered
tat·ter 1   (tāt'ər)   
n.  

  1. A torn and hanging piece of cloth; a shred.

  2. tatters Torn and ragged clothing; rags.

tr. & intr.v.   tat·tered, tat·ter·ing, tat·ters
To make or become ragged.

[Middle English tater, of Scandinavian origin.]
tat·tered   (tāt'ərd)   
adj.  

  1. Torn into shreds; ragged.

  2. Having ragged clothes; dressed in tatters.

    1. Shabby or dilapidated.

    2. Disordered or disrupted.

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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Word Origin & History

tatter  (v.)
1340 (implied in tattered "clad in slashed garments"), from O.N. toturr "rag," cognate with O.E. tættec, tætteca "rag, tatter," Low Ger. tater "tatter." The noun is attested from 1402.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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