Netty
adj, name, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory. Geordie
"Neddy, Netty, a certain place that will not bear a written explanation, but which is depicted to the very life in a tail-piece in the first edition of Bewick's ‘Land Birds’ (1797), p. 285."
- 2 Any other place or fixture used for urination and defecation: a lavatory; a toilet. Geordie
"Netty, a privy or water-closet... A common name, amongst the working classes... In common use. In my recollection it was looked upon as a euphemism."
- 1 Neat, well-groomed, natty. obsolete, rare
"How prettie, how fine and how nettie, Good huswife should yettie."
- 2 Netted: made of or employing a net.
"Ye ought for to keepe them close, till the day haue taken the gellie or netty rime, from the earth."
- 3 Netlike.
- 1 Alternative form of Nettie. alt-of, alternative
Example
More examples"How prettie, how fine and how nettie, Good huswife should yettie."
Etymology
From net (“elegant, neat”) + -y (“forming adjs. of slightly lesser degree”).
From net (“openwork fabric mesh”) + -y (“forming adjectives”).
Uncertain. Proposed derivations include a corruption of necessary, a euphemism for outhouse; French nettoyer (“to cleanse”); and Italian gabinetto (“toilet”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.