Patchy

Patchy

Adjective · /ˈpætʃ.i/

Definition

(1) Existing or occurring in patches; not evenly spread or distributed — patchy fog, patchy sunlight, patchy grass. (2) Of uneven quality; inconsistent; sometimes good and sometimes poor — a patchy performance, patchy Wi-Fi coverage, the film was patchy in places.

Origin

From patch (a piece, a section — Middle English pacche) + -y (having the quality of, characterised by). Patchy therefore meaning characterised by patches — an uneven distribution forming identifiable patches rather than a continuous whole. Appearing in English from the early nineteenth century, initially in the physical sense of uneven distribution and developing the quality/performance sense from the same root image: a performance that is good in some patches and poor in others.