From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
dusty
adj 1: covered with a layer of dust; "a dusty pile of books"
[syn: dusty, dust-covered]
2: lacking originality or spontaneity; no longer new; "moth-
eaten theories about race"; "stale news" [syn: cold,
stale, dusty, moth-eaten]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
dusty \dust"y\ (d[u^]st"[y^]), a. [Compar. Dustier
(d[u^]st"[i^]*[~e]r); superl. Dustiest
(d[u^]st"[i^]*[e^]st).] [AS. dystig. See Dust.]
1. Filled, covered, or sprinkled with dust; clouded with
dust; as, a dusty table; a dusty attic; also, reducing to
dust.
[1913 Webster]
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. --Shak.
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2. Like dust; of the color of dust; as, a dusty white.
[1913 Webster]
Dusty miller (Bot.), a plant (Cineraria maritima); -- so
called because of the ashy-white coating of its leaves.
[1913 Webster]