fretty

¹ American  

[fret-ee] / ˈfrɛt i /

adjective

frettier, frettiest

1. fretful; irritable; peevish.

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fretty ² American  

[fret-ee] / ˈfrɛt i /

adjective

Heraldry.

1. covered with criss-crossed and interlacing diagonal strips.

   argent, fretty sable.

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Etymology

Origin of fretty¹

First recorded in 1835–45; fret ¹ + -y ¹

Origin of fretty²

1555–65; < Middle French frette, derivative of frete trelliswork. See fret ², -ee

Example Sentences

Miss Lizzy, she gets fretty, but she still the same Miss Lizzy.

From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles

Gets on as best she can with Oliver," said Gillman, "though that fretty at times tis as well for him she's polled.

From Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard by Farjeon, Eleanor

Even as he spoke, a toddling youngster from an overcrowded seat at the front end of the car came adventuring along the aisle after the swaying, clutching manner of tired, fretty children on trains.

From The Indiscreet Letter by Abbott, Eleanor Hallowell

The small polar bears, meanwhile, satiated with exercise, air, and light, had begun to grow restive and fretty.

From The Far Horizon by Malet, Lucas

The arms of Lord Audley were Gules, fretty or, and those of the four valiant esquires, as borne for many generations by their respective descendants, in the counties of Chester and Rutland, as follows: Delves.

From The Curiosities of Heraldry by Lower, Mark Antony