# Tammy

/ˈtæmi/ (US) · /tˈæmi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/tammy
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. a woman's name

noun · CEFR B1

a common first name for a woman, often a shorter version of Tamara or Tamsin.

For teachers: a female given name, frequently used as a diminutive of Tamara, Tamsin, or Thomasina.

- Tammy is coming over for dinner with her family tonight.
- The name Tammy saw a significant surge in popularity throughout the mid-twentieth century before becoming less common in recent decades.

### 2. a Scottish hat

noun · CEFR B2 · British English · Dialect

a traditional Scottish hat that is round and flat with a woolly ball on top.

For teachers: a traditional Scottish bonnet, also known as a tam o'shanter, typically made of wool with a pom-pom at the centre.

- He wore a woollen tammy to keep his head warm during the highland walk.
- The traditional tammy is often knitted in tartan patterns to signify specific Scottish clan affiliations.

### 3. straining cloth

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical · Archaic

a strong cloth used in a kitchen to strain sauces or soups to make them smooth.

For teachers: a heavy, often glazed cloth used as a strainer for culinary liquids; an alternative term for a tamis.

- The chef poured the gravy through a tammy to remove any small lumps.
- To achieve the desired velvet texture for the consommé, the apprentice was instructed to pass the liquid through a fine-mesh tammy.

### 4. to strain liquid

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical · Archaic

to push a liquid through a special cloth to make it very smooth.

For teachers: to strain a substance, typically a sauce or purée, through a tammy cloth.

- You should tammy the sauce if you want it to look professional.
- The recipe specifies that the chef must tammy the berry mixture to ensure the coulis is entirely free of seeds.

Usage: The verb is transitive and requires a direct object.

## Examples

- The chef used a tammy to strain the sauce until it was smooth.
- In the traditional kitchen, a tammy cloth was essential for removing every lump from a delicate fruit jelly.
- The historical costume was reconstructed using authentic tammy to replicate the specific weight and sheen of eighteenth-century working-class waistcoats.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.