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daft

[daft, dahft]
adjective, daft·er, daft·est.
  1. senseless, stupid, or foolish.
  2. insane; crazy.
  3. Scot. merry; playful; frolicsome.
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Origin of daft

before 1000; Middle English dafte uncouth, awkward; earlier, gentle, meek, Old English dæfte; cf. deft
Related formsdaft·ly, adverbdaft·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for daftly

Historical Examples of daftly

  • "I'm none so daft as daftly dealt with, mother," interrupted the blacksmith.

    The Shadow of a Crime

    Hall Caine

  • He daftly pulled half-a-dozen tickets from his stock and permitted me to inspect them.

British Dictionary definitions for daftly

daft

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
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Derived Formsdaftly, adverbdaftness, noun

Word Origin for daft

Old English gedæfte gentle, foolish; related to Middle Low German ondaft incapable
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

Word Origin and History for daftly

daft

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."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper