spiffy

See also: Spiffy

English

Etymology

Unknown. Attested in print from 1852 (see quotations below).[1] Compare the noun spiff, attested from 1859,[2] as well as spiffing (1872)[3] and spiffed (1881),[4] suggesting participle forms of a related verb. Compare also spiv (“a smartly-dressed criminal”), attested from the 20th century.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈspɪfi/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪfi

Adjective

spiffy (comparative spiffier, superlative spiffiest)

  1. (informal) Dapper; fine or neat, especially in style of clothing or other appearance.
    • 1852, “How Jeremiah Tubbs became engaged in the Irish elections of 1852”, in New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, page 66:
      He was “great” (as he expressed it) with the Bloomer who kept the bar where their club was held, and whom he styled “a spiffy girl,” and who had been graciously please to accept of a pair of very Brummagem-looking earings, set with paste diamonds, with which he presented her.
    • 1906 August 26, “Newport News in London”, in The New York Times, page 9:
      The charming twins came last week, and you should see their clothes. ‘Spiffy’ is the word.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

spiffy (plural spiffies)

  1. (informal) A dapper person.

References
  • Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.
  1. “spiffy, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2023.
  2. “spiff, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2023.
  3. “spiffing, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022.
  4. “spiff, v.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2023.
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