Etymology dictionary. 2014.
paltry — pal‧try [ˈpɔːltri ǁ ˈpɒːl ] adjective very small in number or amount and therefore not useful, important, or valuable: • As interest rates fell, returns on fixed income investments looked paltry compared with the stock market gains. * * * paltry… … Financial and business terms
paltry — pal try (p[add]l tr[y^]), a. [Compar. {Paltrier} (p[add]l tr[i^]*[ e]r); superl. {Paltriest}.] [Cf. Prov. E. paltry refuse, rubbish, LG. palterig ragged, palte, palter, a rag, a tatter, Dan. pialt, Sw. palta, pl. paltor.] Mean; vile; worthless;… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
paltry — I adjective below par, beneath contempt, beneath notice, cheap, contemptible, deficient, despicable, diminutive, humble, inadequate, incomplete, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, irrelevant, lacking, little, meager, mean, measly,… … Law dictionary
paltry — trifling, trivial, *petty, puny, measly, picayunish, picayune Analogous words: *contemptible, despicable, sorry, scurvy, cheap, beggarly, shabby: abject, ignoble, *mean: *base, low, vile … New Dictionary of Synonyms
paltry — [adj] poor; worthless base, beggarly, cheap, common, contemptible, derisory, despicable, inconsiderable, ineffectual, insignificant, limited, low, low down*, meager, mean, measly, minor, miserable, narrow, petty, picayune, piddling, pitiful, puny … New thesaurus
paltry — ► ADJECTIVE (paltrier, paltriest) 1) (of an amount) very small or meagre. 2) petty; trivial. DERIVATIVES paltriness noun. ORIGIN probably from dialect pelt «rubbish» … English terms dictionary
paltry — [pôl′trē] adj. paltrier, paltriest [prob. < LowG paltrig, ragged < palte, a rag] practically worthless; trifling; insignificant; contemptible; petty paltriness n … English World dictionary
paltry — pal|try [ˈpo:ltri US ˈpo:l ] adj [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: paltry worthless material (16 19 centuries)] 1.) a paltry amount of something is too small to be useful or important ▪ paltry sum of money ▪ He received only a paltry £25 a day. 2.)… … Dictionary of contemporary English
paltry — [[t]pɔ͟ːltri[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n, oft a ADJ amount A paltry amount of money or something else is one that you consider to be very small. ...a paltry fine of ₤150... They suffered an electoral catastrophe, winning a paltry 3 seats. 2)… … English dictionary
paltry — adjective (paltrier; est) Etymology: obsolete paltry trash, from dialect palt, pelt piece of coarse cloth, trash; akin to Middle Low German palte rag Date: 1570 1. inferior, trashy 2. mean, despicable < a paltry trick > 3 … New Collegiate Dictionary
