paltry

Meaning

1. Trashy, trivial, of little value.
2. Of little monetary worth.
3. Despicable; contemptibly unimportant.

Synonyms

trivial

trifling

petty

insignificant

worthless

negligible

little

unimportant

slight

miserable

piddling

minor

niggling

inconsiderable

inadequate

poor

measly

small

despicable

immaterial

unimposing

unimpressive

uninfluential

nickel-and-dime

inconsequential

potty

small-time

pitiful

peddling

contemptible

tiny

nugatory

lowly

low-level

footling

lousy

fiddling

chintzy

limited

lightweight

exiguous

lean

invalid

dirty

cheap

baseborn

nonessential

null and void

only

no good

🙅

Translations

dérisoire

misérable

pauvre

miserable

piètre

dürftig

pobre

irrisorio

mesquin

insuffisant

insignificante

peu

négligeable

erbärmlich

insignifiant

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpɑltɹi/

Etymology

Cognate with Low German: palterig

Cognate with German: palterig

Cognate with Low German: palte

Cognate with Western Frisian: palt

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Palte

Cognate with German: Palter

Cognate with Danish: pjalt

Cognate with Swedish: palta

In summary

From Middle Low German paltrig (“ragged, rubbishy, worthless”), from palter, palte (“cloth, rag, shred”), from Old Saxon *paltro, *palto (“cloth, rag”), from Proto-Germanic *paltrô, *paltô (“scrap, rag, patch”). Of uncertain ultimate origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *polto- (“cloth”), see also Proto-Slavic *poltьno (“linen”).
Cognate with Low German palterig (“ragged, torn”), dialectal German palterig (“paltry”). Compare also Low German palte (“rag”), West Frisian palt (“rag”), Saterland Frisian Palte (“strip; band; tape”), dialectal German Palter (“rag”), Danish pjalt (“rag, tatter”), Swedish palta (“rag”). See also palterly and pelting.