different between itty vs nitty

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??ti/

Adjective

itty (comparative ittier, superlative ittiest)

1. (informal) Extremely small; itty-bitty.

Translations

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): (modern) /?n?ti?/, (older) /?n?t?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?n?ti/, /-?i/
• Rhymes: -?ti
• Hyphenation: nit?ty

Etymology 1

From nit +? -y. The “foolish, inane” adjective sense is from nit (“fool, nitwit”), possibly under the influence of nutty (“crazy, mad”).

The origin of the noun sense (“dope fiend, druggie”) is unknown, but could refer to a person who is under the influence of drugs to the extent that he or she is careless about personal hygiene and unkempt. Compare the verb nit (“to be a nitty”).

Adjective

nitty (comparative nittier or more nitty, superlative nittiest or most nitty)

1. (archaic, also figuratively) Full of nits.

   Synonym: lousy
2. (chiefly Britain, slang) Foolish, inane.

   Synonyms: dumb, idiotic

Alternative forms

• nittie (obsolete)

Translations

Noun

nitty (plural nitties)

1. (African-American Vernacular, MLE, slang) A dope fiend, a druggie.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:addict

Translations

Etymology 2

Probably from nitty(-gritty).

Adjective

nitty (comparative nittier or more nitty, superlative nittiest or most nitty)

1. (Excessively) detailed or specific; fastidious, fussy, nit-picky.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fastidious
2. (poker slang) Of a poker player: playing in an overly cautious and reactive manner.

Translations

Etymology 3

A clipping of nitid (“bright, lustrous, shining”), or directly derived from Latin nitidus (“glittering, shining”), from nite? (“to glitter, shine; to look beautiful or bright”) (from Proto-Indo-European *ney- (“to shine”)) + idus (“suffix meaning ‘tending to’”).

Adjective

nitty (comparative more nitty, superlative most nitty)

1. (obsolete, rare) Shining; elegant, spruce.

Translations

References

Further reading

• nitty (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• tinty