What does "tilly" mean?
An extra product given to a customer at no additional charge; a lagniappe.
Tilly
/ˈtɪli/ adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An extra product given to a customer at no additional charge; a lagniappe.
- Grammar: tilly is listed as adj, name, noun.
- Usage evidence: Myles: "Indeed your Honour may safely say so : Iwas ploughing away […] when I bethought how I forgot to tell little Jem, when he'd be buying my pen'orth of snuff, to be sure to get it in two separate ha'porths, the way he'd have the two tillies. So what could Ido but run home, to […] go myself for the snuff, and be sure to get my tillies.
How to use "tilly"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tilly" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "tilly" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "tilly" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "tilly" is acting as adj, name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "tilly", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An extra product given to a customer at no additional charge; a lagniappe. Ireland
"Myles: "Indeed your Honour may safely say so : Iwas ploughing away […] when I bethought how I forgot to tell little Jem, when he'd be buying my pen'orth of snuff, to be sure to get it in two separate ha'porths, the way he'd have the two tillies. So what could Ido but run home, to […] go myself for the snuff, and be sure to get my tillies."
- 2 A small open-backed truck. UK
"After a fortnight's careful nursing my leg healed and I was packed off in a tilly (utility truck) with my kit-bag to join my comrades at Fairmilehead."
- 3 Alternative letter-case form of tilly. alt-of
"By the time he stooped to lift him up, we were all in the Tilly that Fiver had brought out to meet us."
Adjective
- 1 Containing till (unsorted glacial sediment).
Proper Noun
- 1 A diminutive of the female given name Matilda.
"Tilly's name is Matilda. It was typical of Mum and Dad that they wouldn't let her be called Tilly when she came to them because that was the unusual shortening of Matilda, the unconventional one, and you never did unconventional things, you never did things to draw attention to yourself. So they called her Matty."
- 2 A number of places in France. countable, uncountable
- 3 A surname transferred from the given name.
- 4 A surname from Old French. countable, uncountable
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Example
"Myles: "Indeed your Honour may safely say so : Iwas ploughing away […] when I bethought how I forgot to tell little Jem, when he'd be buying my pen'orth of snuff, to be sure to get it in two separate ha'porths, the way he'd have the two tillies. So what could Ido but run home, to […] go myself for the snuff, and be sure to get my tillies."
Common questions
How do you use "tilly" in a sentence?
Myles: "Indeed your Honour may safely say so : Iwas ploughing away […] when I bethought how I forgot to tell little Jem, when he'd be buying my pen'orth of snuff, to be sure to get it in two separate ha'porths, the way he'd have the two tillies. So what could Ido but run home, to […] go myself for the snuff, and be sure to get my tillies.
How do you pronounce "tilly"?
Pronounced /ˈtɪli/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Irish tuilleadh (“more”).
Etymology 2
From WWII British Army usage Tilly (“name of a range of British Army vehicles”), from utility.
Etymology 3
From till + -y.
Etymology 4
* (given name, nickname): Shortened from Matilda, + -y. * (surname): The surname may also have origins as a matronymic from Matilda.
Etymology 5
From French Tilly. Habitational surname from places in France named Tilly, brought to England by the Normans.
Etymology 6
Diminutive of utility.