# dotty

Pronunciation: say "DOT-ee" US /ˈdɑ.ti/, UK /ˈdɒti/

## Adjective

1. Mildly crazy or eccentric, and often confused or forgetful because of old age. *(colloquial, Australia, British)*
   - Simple: A little crazy or strange, in a harmless and often funny way.
   - _The neighbors thought him a bit dotty, always talking to his garden gnomes._
   - _She had grown dottier since her retirement, mixing up the days of the week._
2. Marked or covered with many dots.
   - Simple: Covered with many small dots or spots.
   - _The designer chose a dotty fabric for the children's curtains._
   - _Her dotty umbrella stood out against the gray crowd._

## Noun

4. A shotgun: a long-barreled gun that fires a spray of small pellets. *(dialectal, Multicultural London English)*
   - Simple: A long gun that fires many small metal pellets at once.
   - _He loaded the dotty and waited in the blind for the ducks._
   - _Two dotties hung on the gun rack above the fireplace._

## Adjective

3. Having an unsteady, shaky way of walking. *(dated, UK)*
   - Simple: Not steady on your feet, walking in a shaky, wobbly way.
   - _Grown frail and dotty on his feet, the old man leaned heavily on his cane._
   - _Weeks of bed rest had left her dotty and uncertain whenever she stood._

## Origin

Formed from "dot" combined with the suffix "-y".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dotty (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).