rickety

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Weak and likely to break or collapse; poorly built or worn out.

   He hesitated before climbing the small, rickety ladder.

2. 2
   adj

   Weak and unsteady in the body, as from age or illness.

   The rickety old man barely managed the stairs.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Rickety arose in the late 17th century from rickets, the childhood disease that can cause bowed legs. The origin of rickets itself is unknown, so the word’s history cannot be traced further with confidence.

From dialectal ricket (“unstable, rickety”) + -y, and/or ricket (“to move noisily and in a reckless way”) + -y. Alternatively, and perhaps less likely, from rickets + -y.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary