dinky [L18th] In Scottish and northern English dialect dink meant ‘neatly dressed, spruce, trim’. Its origins are unknown, and it remained restricted to northern Britain. But from the late 18th century its derivative dinky spread: throughout Britain it means ‘attractively small and neat’, in the USA ‘disappointingly small, insignificant’. In 1934 Dinky toys appeared, and these small but perfectly formed model cars are probably the first thing that come to many people’s minds when they hear the word.