threadbare

Pronunciation: /ˈθɹɛdbɛə/

The English word “threadbare” has 5 meanings listed here.

adjective

Of cloth, clothing, furnishings, etc.: frayed and worn to an extent that the nap is damaged and the warp and weft threads show; shabby, worn-out.
In poor condition; damaged, shabby; also, poorly equipped or provided for, inadequate, meagre, scanty.
Of an argument, excuse, etc.: used so often that it is no longer effective or interesting; banal, clichéd, trite.
An argument or assertion with little in the way of substance or supporting evidence.
Of a person: wearing clothes of threadbare (sense 1) material; hence, impoverished, poor.

Etymology

PIE word *bʰosós From Middle English thred-bar, thred-bare (“of cloth, clothing, etc.: worn to such an extent that the warp and weft threads show, shabby, worn-out; (figurative) inadequate, poor”) [and other forms], from thred (“piece of textile twine”) (from Old English þrǣd (“thread”), from Proto-Germanic *þrēduz (“thread; twisted fibre”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to drill,…

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