dinky
nounEtymology 1780-90; compare Scots dink (“neatly dressed, trim”) (of obscure origin); sense shift perhaps: trim > dainty > small > insignificant; + -y.
1
A dinky thing.
2
Appalachia A small mine car; especially, a small coal car.
dinky
adj/ˈdɪŋki/
Etymology 1780-90; compare Scots dink (“neatly dressed, trim”) (of obscure origin); sense shift perhaps: trim > dainty > small > insignificant; + -y.
- How do you like my hat? That one you had on in church yesterday was real dinky.1915, Lucy Maud Montgomery, “chapter 11”, in Anne of the Island:
- Rather should it be said that these ladies wore dress of military style, since there was nothing uniform about their outfits, one being in powder-blue with silver buttons and a forage-cap, the other in tan with gold buttons and the dinkiest of red-peaked kepis.1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 88:
2 more examples
- I played in the dirt with a small dinky car as the garage held no fascination for a little girl of five.2010, Sharon Wallace, A House Full of Whispers, page 5:
- “Ooh, well, he is a particularly pretty one. Look at his dinky little nose,” said Raj with a sweet smile.2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
- They stayed in a dinky hotel room, but they had a great trip.
- Related terms
- dinky-di, inky-dinky, rinky-dinky