tacky English · revision 1251

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtæki/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ There are two words.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) ''Tacky'' “sticky” was formed from [[tack]] and the suffix [[-y]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) ''Tacky'' “in poor taste” is an adjective use of ''tackey'' “a small or inferior horse”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) also applied to poor whites of the American South,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) a word of uncertain or obscure origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Slightly sticky, as of varnish nearly dry (1788).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The second adjective first meant shabby or seedy (1862),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) and from the 1880s in poor taste.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Etymonline notes that it was a Southern colloquialism used by the wealthier classes of those without good family.^(Etymonline) It now also describes things that are cheap and gaudy.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1788 – sticky.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1800 – ''tackey'', a small horse or poor white.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1862 – shabby, seedy.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1883 – in poor taste.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Lacking style or good taste; cheap and showy; [[tawdry]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Shabby or neglected.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Distasteful or offensive.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Slightly sticky to the touch.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tackiness]]

+ * [[tackily]]

+ * [[ticky-tacky]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tack]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}