See also: Natty

English

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Pronunciation

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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), []
Translations
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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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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
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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.
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Etymology 4

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Clipping of national +‎ -y.

Alternative forms

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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

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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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]:
      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 known
      Natty up your head and worship Babylon throne []
      By his deeds shall a man be known
      You've grown dreadlocks but you're still a slave to the system []

Derived terms

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Further reading

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