Natty - Wiktionary

See also: Natty

English

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Pronunciation

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• (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnæti/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

  Rhymes: -æti

Etymology 1

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Originally slang, perhaps related to natural.[1]

Adjective

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natty (comparative nattier, superlative nattiest)

1. (informal) Smart and fashionable. [from late 18th c.]
   • 1997, David Foster Wallace, “David Lynch keeps his head”, in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Kindle edition, Little, Brown Book Group:Anyway, while the creepy-video thing is under way there are also some scenes of Pullman looking very natty and East Village in all-black and jamming on his tenor sax in front of a packed dance floor (only in a David Lynch movie would people dance ecstatically to abstract jazz), […]
   • 2025 January 28, Cameron Joseph, “Meet Mitt Romney’s replacement – who could make or break the Trump agenda”, in The Christian Science Monitor:A natty dresser, especially by congressional standards, Mr. Curtis has turned his penchant for bright socks into an ice-breaker that he says helps constituents feel comfortable in approaching him.

Derived terms

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• nattily
• nattiness

Translations

[edit] Smart and fashionable

Arabic: أَنِيق m (ʔanīq), مُتَنَاغِم m (mutanāḡim) Czech: fešácký Finnish: siisti (fi), tyylikäs (fi), näppärä (fi), kätevä (fi) French: chic (fr), élégant (fr) German: schick (de), nett (de) Macedonian: модерен (moderen), шизик, фраер (šizik, fraer) Russian: мо́дный (ru) (módnyj), нарядный (ru) (narjadnyj)

Etymology 2

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Variant of knotty.[1]

Adjective

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natty (comparative nattier, superlative nattiest)

1. (Jamaica, slang) Knotty. natty dreadlocks

Etymology 3

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Clipping of natural +‎ -y.

Alternative forms

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• nattie

Adjective

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natty (comparative more natty, superlative most natty)

1. (slang, sports, particularly bodybuilding) Natural, as opposed to steroid enhanced. natty gains

Translations

[edit] sports

Finnish: natu (fi)

Noun

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natty (plural natties)

1. (slang, sports, particularly bodybuilding) Someone whose muscle gains are natural and not aided by the use of steroids.

Translations

[edit] sports

Finnish: natu (fi)

Etymology 4

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Clipping of national +‎ -y.

Alternative forms

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• nattie

Adjective

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natty (comparative more natty, superlative most natty)

1. (slang) National.

Noun

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natty (plural natties)

1. (slang, sports) A national championship. I hope my favorite team makes it to the natty this season.

References

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1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “natty”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

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• tanty

Jamaican Creole

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Etymology

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From English knotty.

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /ˈnatɪ/
• Hyphenation: na‧tty

Noun

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natty (plural natty dem, quantified natty)

1. abbreviation of natty dreadlocks

Adjective

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natty

1. dreadlocked, knotty, nappy What a way yuh 'ead natty. ― Your hair's so nappy.
   • 2010, Mel Cooke, “Mid-90s Rasta revolution withers”, in The Jamaica Gleaner‎[1] (in Jamaican Creole):“Natty natty pon head, picky picky dung a chin. […]”Dreadlocked with a scruffy beard. […]

Verb

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natty

1. to grow dreadlocks; to grow locks 'Im natty up him head. ― He's grown his locks.
   • 2014, Gordon Robinson, “Tainted morality”, in The Jamaica Gleaner‎[2] (in English):“By his deeds shall a man be knownNatty up your head and worship Babylon throne […]”By his deeds shall a man be knownYou've grown dreadlocks but you're still a slave to the system […]

Derived terms

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• natty dread
• natty dreadlocks

Further reading

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• Richard Allsopp, editor (1996), Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 401
• natty – jamaicans.com Jamaican Patois dictionary