dingy

dingy
\ \ [18] Nobody is quite sure where dingy comes from, but the very occasional occurrence of ding or dinge as Middle English forms of dung suggests that it may originally have signified ‘dung-coloured’ (although if it came from such a source it might have been expected to rhyme with springy rather than stingy). Dung [OE] itself appears to go back ultimately to an Indo-European base *dhengh- denoting ‘covering’ (relatives include the Lithuanian verb dengticover’), so its etymological significance is ‘material spread over the earth (for fertilization)’ rather than ‘excrement’.
\ \ Cf.DUNG

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Dingy — ist der Name zweier Gemeinden im französischen Département Haute Savoie, siehe: Dingy en Vuache Dingy Saint Clair Für den Bootstyp siehe Dingi Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dingy — Din gy (d[i^]n j[y^]), a. [Compar. {Dingier}; superl. {Dingiest}.] [Prob. fr. dung. Cf. {Dungy}.] Soiled; sullied; of a dark or dusky color; dark brown; dirty. Scraps of dingy paper. Macaulay. [1913 Webster] || …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dingy — 1736, Kentish dialect, dirty, of uncertain origin, but perhaps related to DUNG (Cf. dung). The noun dinge (1816) is a back formation …   Etymology dictionary

  • dingy — *shabby, dilapidated, faded, seedy, threadbare Analogous words: soiled, grimed, sullied, smirched, tarnished (see SOIL): *dull (sense 2): dusky, murky, gloomy (see DARK) Contrasted words: *bright, luminous, brilliant: fresh, * …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • dingy — [adj] soiled, tacky bedimmed, brokendown, colorless, dark, darkish, dilapidated, dim, dirty, discolored, drab, dreary, dull, dusky, faded, gloomy, grimy, muddy, murky, obscure, run down, seedy, shabby, smirched, somber, sullied, tarnished,… …   New thesaurus

  • dingy — ► ADJECTIVE (dingier, dingiest) ▪ gloomy and drab. DERIVATIVES dingily adverb dinginess noun. ORIGIN perhaps from an Old English word meaning dung …   English terms dictionary

  • dingy — [din′jē] adj. dingier, dingiest [orig. dial. var. of DUNGY] 1. dirty colored; not bright or clean; grimy 2. dismal; shabby dingily adv. dinginess n …   English World dictionary

  • dingy — [[t]dɪ̱nʤi[/t]] dingier, dingiest 1) ADJ GRADED A dingy building or place is rather dark and depressing, and perhaps dirty. Shaw took me to his rather dingy office. 2) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n Dingy clothes, curtains, or furnishings look dirty or… …   English dictionary

  • dingy — UK [ˈdɪndʒɪ] / US adjective Word forms dingy : adjective dingy comparative dingier superlative dingiest a dingy place or object is rather dark in an unpleasant way and often looks dirty …   English dictionary

  • dingy — f dirji] 1. mod. loony; giddy. □ That friend of yours sure does act dingy sometimes. □ Tell the dingy drip to forget it. □ I’m not dingy, I’m just in love. 2. Go to dingus …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • dingy — din|gy [ˈdındʒi] adj comparative dingier superlative dingiest [Date: 1700 1800; Origin: Perhaps from dungy dirty (15 19 centuries), from dung] dark, dirty, and in bad condition ▪ a dingy room ▪ a dingy side street >dinginess n [U] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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