tidy meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

tidy

adj

/ˈtaɪ.di/

Etymology From Middle English tidy, tydy, tidi (“timely, seasonal, opportune”), from tide (“time”) + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian tiedig (“timely, early”), Dutch tijdig (“timely”), German Low German tiedig (“timely”), German zeitig (“seasonal, timely”), Danish tidig (“timely”), Swedish tidig (“timely”).

8 senses

1Arranged neatly and in order.
2Not messy; neat and controlled.
3Satisfactory; comfortable.
4Generous, considerable.
5In good time; at the right time; timely; seasonable…
6Brave; smart; skillful; fine; good.
7Appropriate or suitable as regards occasion, circumstance…
8Normalized in a certain way that optimizes for data analysis.

1

Arranged neatly and in order.

She always kept her desk immaculately tidy; nothing was ever out of place.

2

Not messy; neat and controlled.

Keep Britain tidy by picking up litter.

3

Colloquial Satisfactory; comfortable.

4

Colloquial Generous, considerable.

The scheme made a tidy profit.
Two hundred thousand people! Miss Glory, that's a tidy lot. Not bad.c. 1921 (date written), Karel Čapek, translated by Paul Selver, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots): A Fantastic Melodrama […], Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1923, →OCLC, Act 1:

5

Obsolete In good time; at the right time; timely; seasonable; opportune; favourable; fit; suitable.

if weather be fair and tidy1573, Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry:

6

Obsolete Brave; smart; skillful; fine; good.

7

Appropriate or suitable as regards occasion, circumstances, arrangement, or order.

8

Of data in a dataset Normalized in a certain way that optimizes for data analysis.

Synonyms: neat, orderly, presentable, spick and span, clean, opportune, seasonable, apt, fit
Antonyms: messy, untidy, slipshod
Derived terms: neat and tidy, tidyish, tidyness, tidytips
Related terms: tidily, tidiness

tidy

verb

Etymology From Middle English tidy, tydy, tidi (“timely, seasonal, opportune”), from tide (“time”) + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian tiedig (“timely, early”), Dutch tijdig (“timely”), German Low German tiedig (“timely”), German zeitig (“seasonal, timely”), Danish tidig (“timely”), Swedish tidig (“timely”).

1

To make tidy; to neaten.

Derived terms: tidiable, tidy one's sock drawer, tidy up, untidied

tidy

noun

Etymology From Middle English tidy, tydy, tidi (“timely, seasonal, opportune”), from tide (“time”) + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian tiedig (“timely, early”), Dutch tijdig (“timely”), German Low German tiedig (“timely”), German zeitig (“seasonal, timely”), Danish tidig (“timely”), Swedish tidig (“timely”).

1

In compounds, With a modifier A container or other device for storing or organizing loose items in a tidy fashion.

desk tidy; sink tidy; cable tidy
It was in the days when[…]every scrap of cotton or linen found its way into the ‘tidy’.1863, William Blanchard Jerrold, Signals of distress, in refuges and homes of charity, London, page 207:

2 more examples

NORRIS'S SINK TIDY. J NORRIS AND SONS, Sunningdale, near Ascot, the inventors of the "Little Friend" soap-tray, have extended the usefulness of this utensil by designing a sink-tidy for carrying three of the trays in the manner shown in the engraving. The tidy is formed by a strip of light wood[…]The price at which the tidy is offered virtually places it within the reach of everyone.1895 July 6, The Ironmonger: Builders Merchant and Hardwareman, page 13:
Inside there it was, the 1337 Revolving Desk Tidy.[…]The round "tidy" was divided into six segments "for all types of small sundries," and looked a bit like a grapefruit cut across the middle.2020, James Ward, The Perfection of the Paperclip, page 11:

2

A cover, often of tatting, drawn work, or other ornamental work, for the back of a chair, the arms of a sofa, etc.

3

Dated A child's pinafore.

A much coarser cotton, according to the fancy of the worker, may be used for the trimmings of night dresses, petticoats, D'Oyleys, tidies, etc.1846, Miss Lambert, The Handbook of Needlework:

4

The wren.

The Tydie for her notes as delicate as they1612, Michael Drayton, chapter 13, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes] for M[athew] Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, →OCLC:

Derived terms: cable tidy, desk tidy, hair-tidy, sink tidy, tidy-up

tidy

intj

Etymology From Middle English tidy, tydy, tidi (“timely, seasonal, opportune”), from tide (“time”) + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian tiedig (“timely, early”), Dutch tijdig (“timely”), German Low German tiedig (“timely”), German zeitig (“seasonal, timely”), Danish tidig (“timely”), Swedish tidig (“timely”).

1

Wales Expression of agreement or positive acknowledgement, usually in reply to a question; great, fine.

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