"seedy" Definition

Definitions for the word "seedy" from multiple English dictionaries.

1. adj.
(-ier, -iest) 1 shabby, unkempt. 2 colloq. Unwell. 3 full of or going to seed. seediness n.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, 1884
2. slang
worn-out, poverty-stricken, used-up, shabby. Metaphorical expression from the appearance of flowers when off bloom and running to SEED; hence said of one who wears clothes until they crack and become shabby. “How seedy he looks,” said of any man whose clothes are worn threadbare, with greasy facings, and hat brightened up by perspiration and continual polishing and wetting. When a man’s coat begins to look worn-out and shabby he is said to look SEEDY and ready for cutting. This term has been in common use for nearly two centuries, and latterly has found its way into most dictionaries. Formerly slang, it is now a recognised word, and one of the most expressive in the English language. The French are always amused with it, they having no similar term. “Oh, let my hat be e’er sae brown, My coat be e’er sae SEEDY, O! My whole turn-out scarce worth a crown, Like gents well-bred, but needy, O!” _Fisher’s Garland for 1835._
Source: The Slang Dictionary, 1864

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