Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

knotty

/ˈnɑti/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.51 in modern English

Syllables: knot-ty
IPA: /ˈnɑti/

13

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of string or something stringlike: full of, or tied up, in knots.

adj

Of a part of the body, a tree, etc.: full of knots (knobs or swellings); gnarled, knobbly.

adj

Complicated or tricky; complex, difficult.

adj

Of an austere or hard nature; rugged.

Example Sentences

"I could a Tale vnfold, vvhoſe lighteſt vvord / VVould harrovv vp thy ſoule, freeze thy young blood, / Make thy tvvo eyes like Starres, ſtart from their Spheres, / Thy knotty and combined locks to part, / And each particular haire to ſtand an end, / Like Quilles vpon the fretfull Porpentine: […]"
"Their heads are long, their haire curld, and ſeeming rather wooll, then haire; tis blacke and knotty: […]"
"a knotty pine"
"If thou murmur'ſt, I vvwill rend an Oake / And peg thee in his knotty entrailes, till / Thou haſt hovvl'd avvay tvvelve vvinters."
"How oft on Sundays, when I'd time to tramp, / My rambles led me to a gipsy's camp, / Where the real effigy of midnight hags, / With tawny smoked flesh and tatter'd rags, / Uncouth-brimm'd hat, and weather-beathen cloak, / 'Neath the wild shelter of a knotty oak, / Along the greensward uniformly pricks / Her pliant bending hazel's arching sticks; […]"
"a knotty problem"

Etymology

From Middle English knotti, knotty (“having a knot in it; full of knots; tied together (?); resembling a knot, knotlike; having knobs or protuberances; bulging, convex; of a tree, branch, etc.: full of knots, gnarled; of a plant cutting to be grafted or planted: full of buds or eyes; having joints (?); having swollen joints; of flesh: glandular; of flesh: granular, lumpy, especially, having many swellings; mangy, scurfy (?); having pimples (?); of cauterization: carried out on glandular tissue; (figuratively) of a question or problem: difficult, intricate”) [and other forms], from knotte (“knot; pattern of intersecting lines; coil of a snake”) (from Old English cnotta (“knot”), from Proto-Germanic *knuttô (“knot”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gned- (“to bind”)) + -i (suffix forming adjectives from nouns). The English word may be analysed as knot + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’). Cognates * Dutch knoestig (“knotty”) * German knotig (“knotty”) * Swedish knotig, knutig (“knotty”)

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *gned-, knotti, cnotta, *knuttô
Suffix: knot

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈnɑti/
British English: /ˈnɒti/

Inflected Forms

knottier (comparative) more knotty (comparative) knottiest (superlative) most knotty (superlative)

Derived Forms

knottily knottiness unknotty

Phrases

Knotty Ash

Frequently Paired Words

knot knotting

Synonyms

intricate thorny complex complexed complicate complicated convoluted Gordian involute involutional involved knotty

Homonyms

naughty (cot–caught merger) noddy (flapping)

Antonyms

simple uncomplicated

Rhymes With

karate potty scotty maserati scottie spotty marathi lottie bugatti gotti dottie kiribati

Questions

How do you pronounce knotty?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈnɑti/.
What does knotty mean?: Of string or something stringlike: full of, or tied up, in knots.
Where does knotty come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce knotty

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “knotty”.
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