daftly









daftly


adjective, daft·er, daft·est.

  1. senseless, stupid, or foolish.
  2. insane; crazy.
  3. Scot. merry; playful; frolicsome.

adjective mainly British

  1. informal foolish, simple, or stupid
  2. a slang word for insane
  3. informal (postpositive foll by about) extremely fond (of)
  4. slang frivolous; giddy
adj.

Old English gedæfte “gentle, becoming,” from Proto-Germanic *gadaftjaz (cf. Old English daeftan “to put in order, arrange,” gedafen “suitable;” Gothic gadaban “to be fit”), from PIE *dhabh- “to fit together.” Sense progression from “mild” (c.1200) to “dull” (c.1300) to “foolish” (mid-15c.) to “crazy” (1530s) probably was influenced by analogy with daffe “halfwit.”

54 queries 0.397