arty

Etymology

It is formed from English art + -y, from the noun art.^[2][3][4][5] The later artsy is a variant of it.^[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of furniture, decoration and the like, having artistic pretensions: 1901, in The Academy, which described a new magazine as "decidedly Art-y".^[2][6][3][7]

Semantic evolution

From the first the word was colloquial and slightly mocking, used of things that are pretentiously or quaintly artistic.^[4][6][7] From 1915 it was also used of a person who is artistic in taste or dress, or who wants to be seen as such.^[2] Green's Dictionary of Slang treats it as slang for "pretentious" and quotes John Buchan's "gimcrack little 'arty' houses" (1919) and Kerouac's "arty types" (1951).^[6]

Timeline

• 1901 – of things, having artistic pretensions.^[2][6][7]
• 1915 – of a person, artistic in taste or dress, or wishing to seem so.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (informal) Showily or pretentiously artistic: The café was full of arty posters and mismatched chairs.^[7][4][2]
2. Of a person, artistic in taste, dress or interests, or wanting to be thought so.^[2][4]

Word family

• artily
• artiness
• arty-crafty

Related words

• art
• artsy
• artistic
• arty-farty

Usage notes

A separate noun arty, short for artillery and at first only an abbreviation in writing, is recorded by the OED from 1815;^[2] the Shorter Oxford dates this slang noun to the mid-20th century.^[4]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster