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shod·dy (shŏdē)
Share:
adj. shod·di·er, shod·di·est
1. Made of or containing inferior material.
2.
a. Of poor quality or craft.
b. Rundown; shabby.
3. Dishonest or reprehensible: shoddy business practices.
4. Conspicuously and cheaply imitative.
n. pl. shod·dies
1.
a. Woolen yarn made partially or entirely from scraps or used clothing.
b. Cloth made from or containing such yarn.
2. Something of inferior quality; a cheap imitation.

[Earlier shoddy, worthless material, yarn made by shredding used woolen rags, perhaps from dialectal shoad, shode, loose fragments of ore on the ground indicating the presence of a lode, from Old English scādan, scēadan, to shed, divide ; see skei- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

shoddi·ly adv.
shoddi·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.