What does paltry mean?

Inadequate

Invisible

Significant

Unwise

Before "paltry " was an adjective, it was a noun meaning "trash." That now obsolete noun in turn came from "palt" or "pelt," dialect terms meaning "a piece of coarse cloth," or broadly, "trash." The adjective " paltry " first meant "trashy," but currently has a number of senses, all generally meaning "no good."