seedy

From Middle English sedy, equivalent to seed +‎ -y.

The senses with negative connotation, first attested by 1725 in slang, originally especially “poor, out of money”, probably arose from the metaphor of a flower that has gone to seed, and is no longer considered beautiful.^[1] From there the word came to be used to describe unwell or past-their-prime people, and parallelly run-down places and by extension low-income or crime-affected urban areas. Compare the figurative expressions go to seed (by 1817), etc., originally in reference to plants, “cease flowering as seeds develop”.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiːdi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːdi
• Homophone: cedi

seedy (comparative seedier, superlative seediest)

1. Literal senses:
   1. Containing or full of seeds.

      Pomegranates are as seedy as any fruit you are likely to see.

   2. Seedlike; having the flavour of seeds.
   3. (colloquial) Having a peculiar flavour supposed to be derived from the weeds growing among the vines; said of certain kinds of French brandy.
2. (figurative) Inferior in condition or quality.
   1. Shabby, run-down, possibly connected with bad, dishonest or illegal activities, somewhat disreputable.

      Synonym: sleazy

      • 1981, “Seedy Films”, in Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, performed by Soft Cell:

        Sleazy city / Seedy films / Breathing so heavy / Next to my neighbour / Let’s get acquainted

      • 2007, Bayside, “Choice Hops and Bottled Self Esteem”, in The Walking Wounded:

        The healing power of alcohol / Only works on scrapes and nicks / And not on girls in seedy bars / Who drown themselves in it

   2. Untidy, unkempt.

      His seedy, dirt-smudged visage caused her to look at him askance.

   3. Infirm, unwell, gone to seed.

      With her aching back and pronounced limp, she was feeling particularly seedy today.

   4. Suffering the effects of a hangover.

      After last night’s party we were all feeling pretty seedy.

• seedy toe

• Deyes, seyde