terry

See also: Terry

English

Etymology

Of uncertain origin, possibly French tiré (“drawn out”), past participle of tirer (“to draw out”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: tĕ'rē, IPA^(key): /ˈtɛɹi/
• Rhymes: -ɛɹi

Noun

terry (countable and uncountable, plural terries)

1. A type of coarse cotton fabric covered in many small raised loops that is used to make towels, bathrobes and some types of nappy/diaper.
2. (Commonwealth, dated) Any makeshift cloth nappy folded from a large piece of absorbent fabric and held in place by a nappy pin or nappy fastener; a flat nappy.

Synonyms

• terrycloth
• terry cloth

Derived terms

• French terry

 

Translations

terry cloth — see terry cloth

Further reading

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

Anagrams

• retry, tryer