Dictionary

hatty en · ADJ · etymology 1

Etymology

From hat + -y.

Meanings

1. Of, relating to, or resembling, a hat.
   • Expect a hat which fits the size of your head – it's a very hatty date . 1996, Russell Grant, Russell Grant's Book of Birthdays, page 25:
   • Every one agrees that there ought to be a reform in Hats […] A proclamation could never accomplish a hatty reform; but we are not prepared to say something might not be done by shrieval interference, which would be consistent with those municipal Institutions that all Englishmen cherish. 1850, London Charivari, volume 19, page 156:
   • Everyone will see my hat collections! Today is the day! It will be a Hatty Birthday! 2013, Cheryl Ainsworth Martin, Hatty Birthday, page 9:
   • The window curtains were milky white, but over-hatted in the hattiest pelmets imaginable. 2013, Molly Keane, Loving Without Tears:
2. (of a hat) Having the features one expects of a hat.
   • Many of the hattier hats, believe me, were downright gruesome. 2021, Nadine Stewart, American Milliners and their World, page 166:
   • She should be very happy with the new hatty hats, but she should wear them at a slight angle. 1957, Millie Toole, Mrs. Bessie Braddock, M. P.: A Biography, page 210:
   • Dey not only made our clo's, but also made out hats. Of co'se dey wa'n't very hatty, but was mo' cappy. 2017, Work Projects Administration, The Voices From The Past:
   • He saw a hat, and a most hatty hat, a piece of green felt, shaped with leather and cloth, combining in itself all the quintessentials of hatness contained in all the hats ever made. 1942, Michael Amrine, All Sons Must Say Goodbye, page 9:
3. (of a person) Fond of hats.
   • We must confess that we never yet heard of such a very hatty Lord Mayor , though we have frequently heard of a Hatti-Sheriff. 1851, “All Round The Lord Mayor's Hat.”, in Punch, Or, The London Charivari, volume 20, page 220:
   • Never mind about the top-hat. We aren't hatty people. 1930, A. A. Milne, Mr Pim:
   • Mother was a wee bit hatty and she got the milliner in Clarkston Road to line our straw hats with pink silk, and put daisies round them. 2013, Anna Blair, Tea at Miss Cranston's:
4. Characterized by the wearing of hats.
   • London remains the hattiest city in the world, and yet in this year of celebrations it has let Paris glorify the birth of the beaver. 1897, “Our London Letter”, in The English Illustrated Magazine, volume 17, page 222:
   • They all sat about in the summer-house and in garden-chairs, and were very hatty and ruffly and sunshadey: Three ladies and the curate played croquet with a general immense gravity broken by occasional loud cries of feigned distress from the curate. 1967, English Review - Volume 1, page 524:
   • In addition, Stephen Jones produced seven hats and, as the show was only eighteen looks, it was, he said, “fairly hatty”. 2019, Kerry Taylor, Galliano: Spectacular Fashion:
   • The first time it happened we were at some big soirée, full of respectable, hatty ladies. 1983, Pat Phoenix, Love, Curiosity, Freckles, and Doubt, page 181:

Forms

hatty en · NOUN · etymology 2

Meanings

1. (India, alt-of, alternative, obsolete) Alternative form of hathi (“an elephant”).
   alt of hathi
   • Several herds of wild buffaloes were met on our way , but as our hatties, as well as the drivers, were too done up, we allowed them to pass unmolested. 1870, The Oriental Sporting Magazine, volume 3, page 1197:
   • […] the credit of it, if any there be, must be given to old Purdey, the maker of your rifle; for never do I think that grooved bore threw lead so true, and I now do not wonder at your luck in bringing down the hatties (elephants) right and left. 1860, Henry Astbury Leveson, The Hunting Grounds of the Old World, page 245:

Forms

hatty en · ADJ · etymology 3

Etymology

From hat + -y.

Meanings

1. (informal) A hat trick.
   • The England international has been responding to critics on Instagram, commenting under one post regarding the situation: "What do you want me to do, score a hatty in 20?" 2025 June 6, “Does Grealish have a future at Man City? Have your say”, in BBC Sport, Salford, England, retrieved 13 Jun 2026:

Forms