Word of the Day

: November 21, 2017

wifty

adjective WIF-tee

What It Means

: eccentrically silly, giddy, or inane : ditzy

wifty in Context

"Developers are, by nature, dreamers and gamblers, seeing opportunity and growth where others see only the Steak & Bagel Train. Many developers appear a tad wifty, perhaps existing in some altered state of consciousness, but this project is in a class by itself." — Karen Heller, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 28 Oct. 2012

"… he paints a tender and sensitive portrait of a modern-day Don Quixote trapped in his own grand, wifty delusions." — Laura Bennett, The Boston Globe, 2 July 2009

Did You Know?

Wifty is a synonym of ditzy. And, like ditzy, its origins remain unknown. The earliest print evidence of wifty goes back to the early 20th century, though the word was certainly being used in spoken English before that. Ditzy stumbled into American slang decades later—we are able to trace it back to the 1970s. But dizzy, which in its Old English origins meant "foolish" or "stupid," has been used in a sense similar to ditzy or wifty since the 16th century.