dowdy
n. US //ˈdaʊdi// UK //dˈaʊdi// dowdy
First appears c. 1581. Origin uncertain, probably literally "little poorly dressed woman," formed from doue, "poorly dressed woman". Possibly also related to the Scots dow, meaning to "fade".
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated April 17, 2026