Meanings
warby1
comparative warbier · superlative warbiest
- AustraliadatedderogatoryslangUnkempt, disreputable.
'Of all the warby ideas,' he said, and in the spite of the rain and the prospect of a wet camp, in spite of everything, he was smiling at her, 'the warbiest is you going on your own. I guess Jimmy and me can give you a lift down to Orion for the cherry-pickin'. What say, Jimmy?'
1941, Kylie Tennant, The Battlers, Pymble, N.S.W.: Angus & Robertson, published 1994, →ISBN, page 260
Warby2
Origin
warby · adjective
Probably from warb + -y, although the former is attested a few years later.
Full word history & related roots →Warby · proper noun
- Old Norsevǫrðr“warden, watcher”
- EnglishWarby
Perhaps from Old Norse vǫrðr (“warden, watcher”) + býr (“farmstead”).
More words from Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
warby. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warby
“warby.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warby. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “warby,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/warby.
Source: warby on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.