<P> "Cutty sark" is 18th - century Scots for "short chemise" or "short undergarment". Hyphenated, Cutty - sark was a nickname given to the witch Nannie Dee, a fictional character created by Robert Burns in his Tam o' Shanter, after the garment she wore . The figurehead of the tea clipper Cutty Sark is named after the character and a brand of Scotch whisky is named in turn for the ship . </P> <P> Cutty or cuttie (the diminutive form of cuttit, from Early Middle English cutte, kutte, cute "ugly") is "short" or "stumpy". </P>

Where does the name cutty sark come from