Scrappy

How to spell scrappy

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce scrappy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does scrappy mean?

1. adjectiveConsisting of small, disconnected pieces; untidy, incomplete, or thrown together.
2. adjectiveFull of fighting spirit and determination, especially despite being small or disadvantaged.

Scrappy in a sentence

• The report was scrappy and left several questions unanswered.

• The scrappy underdog team refused to give up the lead.

• He kept only a few scrappy notes from the meeting.

• She built her business with a scrappy refusal to quit.

Where does scrappy come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

This adjective is built on the noun 'scrap', which English took from the Old Norse word 'skrap', meaning odds and ends or small leftover fragments; the same Norse source gave us the verb 'to scrape'. By the 1500s 'scrap' meant a small detached piece of something, and the adjective 'scrappy' followed in the early 1800s to describe anything made up of disconnected bits and pieces. A second, livelier sense grew out of a different but related noun 'scrap', meaning a fight or scuffle, which appeared in slang around the same period; from that came 'scrappy' for someone full of fighting spirit and pluck. The doubled 'p' is the spelling point worth fixing in memory: 'scrap' ends in a single consonant after a short vowel, so adding '-y' doubles it to 'scrappy', just as 'snap' becomes 'snappy'. Both senses sit comfortably in everyday adult English, one slightly disparaging, the other admiring.

How the word is built

• scrap (from Old Norse skrap: scraps, fragments)
• -y (adjective suffix)