dinky

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɪŋki/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋki

1780-90; compare Scots dink (“neatly dressed, trim”) (of obscure origin); sense shift perhaps: trim > dainty > small > insignificant; +‎ -y.

dinky (comparative dinkier, superlative dinkiest)

1. (informal, British) Tiny and cute; small and attractive.
   • 1915, Lucy Maud Montgomery, “chapter 11”, in Anne of the Island:

     How do you like my hat? That one you had on in church yesterday was real dinky.

   • 1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 88:

     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.

   • 2010, Sharon Wallace, A House Full of Whispers‎^[1], page 5:

     I played in the dirt with a small dinky car as the garage held no fascination for a little girl of five.

   • 2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

     “Ooh, well, he is a particularly pretty one. Look at his dinky little nose,” said Raj with a sweet smile.

2. (informal, US) Tiny and insignificant; small and undesirable.

   They stayed in a dinky hotel room, but they had a great trip.

• See also Thesaurus:tiny

• dinky-di
• inky-dinky
• rinky-dinky

dinky (plural dinkies)

1. A dinky thing.
   1. (Appalachia) A small mine car; especially, a small coal car.

See DINK

dinky (plural dinkies)

1. (slang) A person in a relationship with double income and no kids

• kindy