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Webster 1913 Edition


Daff

Daff

(dȧf)
,
Verb.
T.
[Cf.
Doff
.]
To cast aside; to put off; to doff.
[Obs.]
Canst thou so
daff
me? Thou hast killed my child.
Shakespeare

Daff

,
Noun.
[See
Daft
.]
A stupid, blockish fellow; a numskull.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Daff

(dȧf)
,
Verb.
I.
To act foolishly; to be foolish or sportive; to toy.
[Scot.]
Jamieson.

Daff

,
Verb.
T.
To daunt.
[Prov. Eng.]
Grose.

Webster 1828 Edition


Daff

DAFF

, or DAFFE, A stupid blockish fellow.

DAFF

,
Verb.
T.
To daunt.

DAFF

,
Verb.
T.
To toss aside; to put off.

Definition 2024


daff

daff

English

Noun

daff (plural daffs)

  1. A fool; an idiot; a blockhead.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English daffen (to render foolish), from daf, daffe (fool, idiot). See above.

Verb

daff (third-person singular simple present daffs, present participle daffing, simple past and past participle daffed)

  1. (intransitive) To be foolish; make sport; play; toy.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Jamieson to this entry?)
  2. (Britain, dialect, obsolete) To daunt.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Grose to this entry?)
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Variant of doff.

Verb

daff (third-person singular simple present daffs, present participle daffing, simple past and past participle daffed)

  1. (transitive) To toss (aside); to dismiss.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2 Scene 3
      DON PEDRO. I would she had bestowed this dotage on me; I would have daffed all other respects and made her half myself.
    • 1948, CS Lewis, ‘Notes on the Way’:
      Such is the record of Scripture. Nor can you daff it aside by saying that local and temporary conditions condemned women to silence and private life.
  2. (transitive) To turn (someone) aside; divert.

Etymology 4

From daffodil.

Noun

daff (plural daffs)

  1. (Britain, informal) A daffodil.
    Get your daffs here - £2 a bunch.
    • 1934, Dorothy L. Sayers, The Nine Tailors
      You want a few more daffs on the decani side []

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