nitty

nitty · adjective, noun¹

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”).

nitty · adjective²

Probably from nitty(-gritty).

nitty · adjective³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ney-“to shine”
2. Latin · derived fromnitidus“glittering, shining”
3. English todaynitty

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

Words from the same roots