See also: Tidy

English

edit
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

edit

From Middle English tidy, tydy, tidi (timely, seasonal, opportune), from tide (time) +‎ -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian tiedig (timely, early), Dutch tijdig (timely), German Low German tiedig (timely), German zeitig (seasonal, timely), Danish tidig (timely), Swedish tidig (timely).

Pronunciation

edit

Adjective

edit

tidy (comparative tidier, superlative tidiest)

  1. Arranged neatly and in order.
    She always kept her desk immaculately tidy; nothing was ever out of place.
  2. Not messy; neat and controlled.
    Keep Britain tidy by picking up litter.
  3. (colloquial) Satisfactory; comfortable.
  4. (colloquial) Generous, considerable.
    The scheme made a tidy profit.
  5. (obsolete) In good time; at the right time; timely; seasonable; opportune; favourable; fit; suitable.
    • 1573, Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry:
      if weather be fair and tidy
  6. (obsolete) Brave; smart; skillful; fine; good.
  7. Appropriate or suitable as regards occasion, circumstances, arrangement, or order.
  8. (data science, of data in a dataset) Normalized in a certain way that optimizes for data analysis.

Synonyms

edit

Antonyms

edit

Derived terms

edit
edit

Translations

edit

Verb

edit

tidy (third-person singular simple present tidies, present participle tidying, simple past and past participle tidied)

  1. To make tidy; to neaten.

Derived terms

edit

Translations

edit

Noun

edit

tidy (plural tidies)

  1. (now chiefly in combination with a modifier) A container or other device for storing or organizing loose items in a tidy fashion.
    desk tidy; sink tidy; cable tidy
    • 1863, William Blanchard Jerrold, Signals of distress, in refuges and homes of charity, London, page 207:
      It was in the days when [] every scrap of cotton or linen found its way into the ‘tidy’.
    • 1895 July 6, The Ironmonger: Builders Merchant and Hardwareman, page 13:
      NORRIS'S SINK TIDY. J NORRIS AND SONS, Sunningdale, near Ascot, the inventors of the "Little Friend" soap-tray, have extended the usefulness of this utensil by designing a sink-tidy for carrying three of the trays in the manner shown in the engraving. The tidy is formed by a strip of light wood [] The price at which the tidy is offered virtually places it within the reach of everyone.
    • 2020, James Ward, The Perfection of the Paperclip, page 11:
      Inside there it was, the 1337 Revolving Desk Tidy. [] The round "tidy" was divided into six segments "for all types of small sundries," and looked a bit like a grapefruit cut across the middle.
  2. A cover, often of tatting, drawn work, or other ornamental work, for the back of a chair, the arms of a sofa, etc.
  3. (dated) A child's pinafore.
    • 1846, Miss Lambert, The Handbook of Needlework:
      A much coarser cotton, according to the fancy of the worker, may be used for the trimmings of night dresses, petticoats, D'Oyleys, tidies, etc.
  4. The wren.

Derived terms

edit

Translations

edit

Interjection

edit

tidy

  1. (Wales) Expression of agreement or positive acknowledgement, usually in reply to a question; great, fine.