shabby

English

Etymology

From shab (“scab”) +‎ -y, or directly from an alteration of scabby. Cognate with Scots shabby (“in poor health, ill”), Dutch schabbig (“poor, needy, shabby”), Middle Low German schabbich (“miserable”), German schäbig (“shabby”), Swedish skabbig (“scabby”), Swedish sjabbig (“shabby, mangy, scruffy”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃæb.i/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æbi

Adjective

shabby (comparative shabbier, superlative shabbiest)

1. (of clothing) Torn or worn; unkempt.

   They lived in a tiny apartment, with some old, shabby furniture.

   • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, in The Affair at the Novelty Theatre‎^[1]:

     Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.

2. (of a person) Wearing ragged, very worn, or dirty clothing.

   The fellow arrived looking rather shabby after journeying so far.

3. Mean; despicable.

   shabby treatment

4. Poor; showing little effort or talent.

   His painting is not too shabby.

Derived terms

• shabby-genteel
• shabby chic

Translations

torn or worn; poor; mean; ragged

• Arabic: بَالٍ‎ (bālin)
• Bulgarian: износен (bg) (iznosen), изтъркан (bg) (iztǎrkan), захабен (bg) (zahaben)
• Catalan: tronat (ca)
• Cebuano: nagkagidlay
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 破舊／破旧 (zh) (pòjiù)

• Czech: ošuntělý, omšelý, zchátralý
• Dutch: haveloos (nl), slonzig (nl)
• Finnish: nuhruinen, nuhjuinen (fi), nukkavieru (fi)
• French: râpé (fr), usé (fr), élimé (fr), miteux (fr)
• German: schäbig (de)
• Italian: logoro (it) m
• Japanese: ぼろぼろ (boroboro)
• Korean: 누추 (ko) (nuchu)
• Luxembourgish: schappeg
• Maori: taretare, kanukanu, pūtaitai
• Norman: êvâtchi
• Portuguese: estropiado (pt), esfarrapado (pt), esbodegado (pt)
• Romanian: uzat (ro), ponosit (ro), zdrențăros (ro), sărăcăcios (ro)
• Russian: убо́гий (ru) (ubógij), захуда́лый (ru) (zaxudályj), ве́тхий (ru) (vétxij), запу́щенный (ru) (zapúščennyj) (neglected), жа́лкий (ru) (žálkij) (pathetic), по́длый (ru) (pódlyj) (mean)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: похабан, олињао

  Roman: pohaban (sh), olinjao (sh)

• Spanish: raído (es) m, astroso (es) m, zarrapastroso (es), cutre (es)
• Swedish: sjabbig (sv), sjavig (sv), sliten (sv), maläten (sv)

clothed with ragged, much worn, or soiled garments

• Bulgarian: дрипав (bg) (dripav), опърпан (bg) (opǎrpan)
• Cebuano: nagkagidlay
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 破爛／破烂 (zh) (pòlàn)

• Czech: ošuntělý, otrhaný
• Finnish: nuhruinen, nuhjuinen (fi), nukkavieru (fi)
• Galician: esfarrapado, atrouxado
• German: schäbig (de)
• Japanese: ぼろぼろ (boroboro)
• Portuguese: esfarrapado (pt)
• Romanian: zdrențuit (ro)
• Russian: поно́шенный (ru) (ponóšennyj), потрёпанный (ru) (potrjópannyj), потёртый (ru) (potjórtyj), обветша́лый (ru) (obvetšályj), ве́тхий (ru) (vétxij), плюга́вый (ru) (pljugávyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: отрцан

  Roman: otrcan (sh)

• Spanish: harapiento (es), andrajoso (es), desarrapado, desharrapado, zarrapastroso (es)
• Swedish: luggsliten (sv), sjavig (sv)

mean; paltry; despicable

• Bulgarian: низък (bg) (nizǎk), подъл (bg) (podǎl)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 刻薄 (zh) (kèbó), 卑鄙 (zh) (bēibǐ)

• Czech: podlý (cs), nečestný, sprostý (cs)
• Finnish: surkea (fi), onneton (fi)
• French: minable (fr)
• German: schäbig (de)
• Italian: meschino (it) m
• Portuguese: tosco (pt) m (slang)
• Romanian: josnic (ro), meschin (ro), ticălos (ro)
• Swedish: sjaskig (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} zwak (nl)

References

“shabby”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.