putty

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French potée (“polishing powder", originally "the contents of a pot, potful”), from French pot (“pot”). More at English pot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʌti/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌti

Noun

putty (countable and uncountable, plural putties)

1. A form of cement, made from linseed oil and whiting, used to fix panes of glass.
2. Any of a range of similar substances.
   1. An oxide of tin, or of lead and tin, used in polishing glass, etc.
   2. A fine cement of lime only, used by plasterers.
3. (golf, colloquial) A golf ball made of composition and not gutta-percha.

Derived terms

• glazier's putty
• putty in someone's fingers
• putty in someone's hands
• putty knife
• putty medal
• putty powder
• silly putty
• wood putty

 

Translations

a form of cement

• Bulgarian: маджун (bg) m (madžun)
• Catalan: massilla (ca) f
• Czech: kyt (cs) m
• Danish: kit n
• Dutch: kit (nl) m, stopverf (nl) c
• Estonian: kitt
• Finnish: kitti (fi)
• French: mastic (fr) m
• Georgian: წებო (c̣ebo), საფითხნი (sapitxni)
• German: Kitt (de) m, Fensterkitt m
• Hungarian: (as used by glaziers) gitt (hu), (as used by plasterers/decorators) glett, kitt (hu), (rare) tapasz (hu)
• Indonesian: dempul (id)
• Italian: stucco (it) m
• Japanese: パテ (ja) (pate)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kitt n

  Nynorsk: kitt n

• Ottoman Turkish: معجون‎ (maʿcun)
• Persian: زاماسکه‎ (fa) (zâmâske)
• Plautdietsch: Kjitt n
• Polish: kit (pl) m
• Portuguese: massa (pt), massa de vidraceiro f
• Russian: зама́зка (ru) f (zamázka), шпатлёвка (ru) f (špatljóvka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: кит m, гит m

  Roman: kit (sh) m, git (sh) m

• Spanish: masilla
• Swedish: kitt (sv) n, spackel (sv) n
• Turkish: macun (tr)
• Volapük: färmedastöf

any of a range of similar substances

• Catalan: màstic m
• Finnish: silote
• Swedish: spackel (sv) n

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} mastic (fr)

Adjective

putty (not comparable)

1. Of, pertaining to, or resembling putty.

Verb

putty (third-person singular simple present putties, present participle puttying, simple past and past participle puttied)

1. (transitive) To fix or fill using putty.

Translations

to fix something using putty

• Bulgarian: маджуносвам (madžunosvam)
• Catalan: massillar (ca)
• Finnish: kitata (fi)
• French: mastiquer (fr)
• German: kitten (de)
• Hungarian: betapaszt (hu), betöm (hu), (as used by glaziers) gittel (hu), begittel, (as used by plasterers/decorators) glettel (hu)

Etymology 2

Adjective

putty (comparative puttier, superlative puttiest)

1. (pronunciation spelling) pretty; purdy

Etymology 3

Noun

putty (plural putties)

1. Alternative form of puttee (“strip of cloth wound round the leg”).
   • 1964 [1929], William Faulkner, Sartoris (The Collected Works of William Faulkner), London: Chatto & Windus, page 22:

     “He went to’ds de back, ma’am.” The negro opened the door and slid his legs, clad in army O.D. and a pair of linoleum putties, to the ground. “‘I’ll go git ’im.”’