/ ˈtæti; NAmE / adjective
( informal , especially BrE ) in a bad condition because it has been used a lot or has not been cared for well
SYN shabby :
a tatty carpet
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WORD ORIGIN
early 16th cent. (originally Scots , in the sense tangled, matted, shaggy ): apparently ultimately related to Old English tættec rag , of Germanic origin; compare with tattered .