Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
TIPPERTY, adj. [′tɪpərte] 1. Unsteady, unstable, rocking on its base (n.Sc. 1808 Jam.). Hence tipperty-like, in phrs. to gang tipperty-like, “to walk in a flighty, ridiculous sort of way,” to teeter (Id.), to stand tipperty-like, to rock, to be unsteady and ready to topple over (Id.; Abd. 1905 E.D.D.).
2. Of a young woman: walking in a prim precise mincing manner, tripping daintily (Fif. 1825 Jam.). Cf. hippertie-tippertie s.v. Hippertie; prim in gen., old-maidish (Rxb. 1900).
[Deriv. of Tipper, v.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Tipperty adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 May 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/tipperty>
