different between wintry vs nippy

English

Alternative forms

• wintery

Etymology

From Old English wintrig. Also constructed from winter +? -y.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?w?nt(?)??/
• (General American) enPR: w?n?t(?-)r?, IPA^(key): /?w?nt(?)?i/, [?w???(?)?i]
• Rhymes: -?nt?i
• Hyphenation: win?try

Adjective

wintry (comparative wintrier, superlative wintriest)

1. Suggestive or characteristic of winter; cold, stormy.

   wintry weather

2. Of precipitation, containing sleet or snow.

   It will be cloudy overnight, with outbreaks of heavy rain at times. The rain may turn wintry over higher ground.

3. Aged, white-haired.
4. Chilling, cheerless.
   • 1934, Frank Richards, The Magnet, The Bounder's Folly

     He reached the old ruins at last, dim masses of moss-grown masonry in the glimmer of the wintry starlight.

   a wintry remark

Synonyms

• (suggestive or characteristic of winter): brumal, hibernal, hiemal

Derived terms

Translations

References

• wintry at OneLook Dictionary Search
• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

English

Etymology

nip +? -y

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?pi/
• Rhymes: -?pi

Adjective

nippy (comparative nippier, superlative nippiest)

1. (Britain, informal) fast; speedy
   • c. 2000, Melanie Allen, Customer Relations Management (page 6)

     A Rolls Royce will not do if you need an economical, nippy car that is easy to park.

2. (informal) Of the weather, rather cold.

3. Inclined to nip; bitey.
   • 1995, Nancy Baer, Choosing a Dog: A Guide to Picking the Perfect Breed (page 161)

     Spoiling may create a pushy, nippy dog that lacks confidence.

4. (Scotland, informal) annoying; irritating
5. (Scotland) sharp in taste
6. (Scotland) curt
7. (Scotland) parsimonious

Translations