daffing

[daf-ing]

noun Scot. and North England.

merriment; playful behavior; foolishness.
Archaic. insanity.

Origin of daffing

First recorded in 1525–35; daff¹ + -ing¹

daff

[daf]

verb (used without object) Scot. and North England.

to make sport; dally; play.

Origin of daff

1525–35; v. use of daff (obsolete) a fool, Middle English daffe (noun); see daft

daff

[daf]

verb (used with object)

Archaic. to turn or thrust aside.
Obsolete. to doff.

Origin of daff

First recorded in 1590–1600; alteration of doff

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for daffing

Historical Examples of daffing

Is there any reason to refrain from laughing and daffing while at that work?
An Orkney Maid
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
I hae had mony a day's daffing wi' Jean's mither, and they say she bides on wi' them.
Bride of Lammermoor
Sir Walter Scott
It was just daffing, I tell ye: daffing, and nae mair: a piece of fun, like!
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI
Robert Louis Stevenson
This was the more characteristic, as, for all his daffing, he was a modest and very polite little fellow among ourselves.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition
Robert Louis Stevenson
One of our chief times of daffing was when he required a horse, another bottle, or some money.
The Master of Ballantrae
Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for daffing

daff

noun

informal short for daffodil

daff

verb

(intr) mainly Scot to frolic; play the fool

Word Origin for daff

C16: from obsolete daff fool, of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012