tacky

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtæki/^[1]

Etymology

There are two words.^[2][3][4][5] Tacky “sticky” was formed from tack and the suffix -y.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Tacky “in poor taste” is an adjective use of tackey “a small or inferior horse”,^[2][3][4][6] also applied to poor whites of the American South,^[7][4][5] a word of uncertain or obscure origin.^[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Slightly sticky, as of varnish nearly dry (1788).^[7][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The second adjective first meant shabby or seedy (1862),^[3][4][7][5] and from the 1880s in poor taste.^[3][4] Etymonline notes that it was a Southern colloquialism used by the wealthier classes of those without good family.^[4] It now also describes things that are cheap and gaudy.^[5][6][1]

Timeline

• 1788 – sticky.^[7][3][4][5]
• 1800 – tackey, a small horse or poor white.^[7][3][4]
• 1862 – shabby, seedy.^[7][3][4][5]
• 1883 – in poor taste.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Lacking style or good taste; cheap and showy; tawdry.
2. Shabby or neglected.
3. Distasteful or offensive.
4. Slightly sticky to the touch.

Word family

• tackiness
• tackily
• ticky-tacky

Related words

• tack

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press