dandy

Borrowed from Scots dandy (“a fop; one who is well-dressed”). Of uncertain origin.

Possibly from Dandy, a diminutive of Andrew, yet the Scots word is used also in reference to women. Alternatively, possibly a back-formation of Scots dandilly, dandillie (“one who is spoiled or pampered; a "pet"”). Compare English dandle and dander.

• IPA^(key): /ˈdæn.di/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ændi

dandy (plural dandies)

1. A man very concerned about his physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dandy

   • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 60, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

     The gallant young Indian dandy at home on furlough — immense dandies these — chained and moustached — driving in tearing cabs, the pillars of the theatres, living at West End Hotels, — […]

   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter VI, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 68:

     No town-bred dandy will compare with a country-bred one—I mean a downright bumpkin dandy–a fellow that, in the dog-days, will mow his two acres in buckskin gloves for fear of tanning his hands.

   • 1945, J. B. Priestley, chapter I, in An Inspector Calls:

     “Gerald Croft is an attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred young man-about-town.”

2. (British, nautical) A yawl, or a small after-sail on a yawl.
3. A dandy roller.
4. (UK, Ireland, slang, archaic) A small glass of whisky.
   • 1844, William Jesse, The life of George Brummell, page 57:

     Somebody quite as notorious as Brummell, but whose follies have been far more mischievous; whose eloquence is great, but certainly not always refined; and to whose health many a dandy of whisky has been tossed off.

• → Dutch: dandy
• → Esperanto: dando
• → Finnish: dandy
• → French: dandy
• → German: Dandy
• → Japanese: ダンディ, ダンディー
• → Limburgish: dèndie
• → Polish: dandy
• → Spanish: dandy

• boulevardier
• man about town

dandy (comparative dandier, superlative dandiest)

1. Like a dandy, foppish.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:foppish

2. Very good; better than expected but not as good as could be.

   Synonyms: all very well, well and good

   That's all fine and dandy, but how much does it cost?

3. Excellent; first-rate.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:excellent

   What a dandy little laptop you have.

   • 1924, Boys' Life, page 27:

     Grip Sures are dandy shoes for anything that comes along. Hiking, climbing, canoeing, around camp or in the gym — you can't have anything better.

   • 1945, Mack David, Alex C Kramer, Joan Whitney (lyrics and music), “Candy”, performed by Nat King Cole:

     Its gonna be just dandy / The day I take my Candy / And make him mine all mine

   • 1967 December 23, “Disney ‘Jungle Book’ Arrives Just in Time”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     A perfectly dandy cartoon feature, “The Jungle Book,” scooted into local theaters yesterday just ahead of the big day, and it's ideal for the children.

Borrowed from English dandy.

• (Netherlands) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛn.di/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: dan‧dy

dandy m (plural dandy's, diminutive dandy'tje n)

1. dandy

   Synonyms: fat, pronker

Borrowed from English dandy.

• IPA^(key): /ˈdændi/, [ˈdændi]

dandy

1. dandy

• “dandy”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

English dandy.

• IPA^(key): /dɑ̃.di/

dandy m (plural dandys or dandies)

1. dandy
   • 1864, Charles Baudelaire, Mon cœur mis à nu:

     Le dandy doit aspirer à être sublime, sans interruption. Il doit vivre et dormir devant un miroir.

     The dandy must aspire to be constantly sublime. He must live and sleep in front of a mirror.

• “dandy”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• dandy

Unadapted borrowing from English dandy.

dandy m (uncountable)

1. dandy

• dandi

Unadapted borrowing from English dandy.

• IPA^(key): /ˈdandi/ [ˈd̪ãn̪.d̪i]
• Rhymes: -andi
• Syllabification: dan‧dy

dandy m (plural dandys)

1. dandy

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

• “dandi”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014