Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to smarten oneself up, to put the finishing touches to.

1823		‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc. 174: Tiddyvated — i.e. made tidy, or neat.
1835		Dickens ‘Misplaced Attachment of Mr John Dounce’ in Slater Dickens’ Journalism I (1994) 243: Regular as clockwork – breakfast at nine – dress and tittivate a little.
1836		T. Haliburton Clockmaker I 231: Young folks [...] titivated out rael jam, in their go-to-meetin clothes.
1843		T. Haliburton Sam Slick in England II 109: Well, I’ll arrive in time for dinner; I’ll titivate myself up, and down to drawin’-room.
1844		‘Jonathan Slick’ High Life in N.Y. II 90: I haint no doubt that the hull house had been transmogrified and titivated up jest cause a lord was coming to eat dinner.
1846		Bell’s Life in Sydney 25 July 2/4: [He] got the gig tittiwated up with red morocco.
1854		S. Robinson Hot Corn 19: Do you see that gal? how fine she is tittivated up. Don’t she look like a lady?
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1864		Hamilton Spectator (Vic.) 28 Dec. 4/1: When the knock of visitors was to be heard, up jumped my aunt. ‘I must titivate,’ she said [...] Thereupon ebe produced the rouge pot, a pocket mirror, and a scrap of flannel.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 86: Titivate, to dress neatly; to ornament.
1896		Farmer Vocabula Amatoria (1966) 5: Adoniser (s’) To be over-particular in dress ‘to tittivate.’.
1912		Bulletin (Sydney) 12 Dec. 34/4: The next one was run over be a motor-car ’urryin’ to the church after stayin’ too long tittivatin’ herself up for the ceremony [...].

2. to treat kindly or gently.

1923

J. Manchon Le Slang.