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daff

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daff¹

  • /dæf/ UK

Rhymes with -æf

Where it comes from

From Middle English daf, daffe (“fool, idiot”), from Old Norse daufr (“deaf, stupid”), from Proto-Germanic *daubaz (“deaf, stunned”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, whirl, smoke, be obscure”). Doublet of deaf, dof, and dowf. Cognate with Swedish döv (“deaf”), Danish døv (“deaf, stupid”). More at deaf.

noun daffs

  1. A fool; an idiot; a blockhead.

daff²

  • /dæf/ UK

Rhymes with -æf

Where it comes from

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

verb daffs · daffing · daffed

  1. Scotland, intransitive To be foolish; make sport; play; toy. We'll hauld our court mid the roaring lins, And daff in the lashan' tide
  2. UK, dialectal, obsolete To daunt. Young Tam came up and eyed me quick With reddened cheek—Braw Tam was daffed like a chick—He could na speak—Ah Marie they are all gane hame

daff³

  • /dæf/ UK

Rhymes with -æf

Where it comes from

Variant of doff.

verb daffs · daffing · daffed

  1. transitive To toss (aside); to dismiss. DON PEDRO. I would she had bestowed this dotage on me; I would have daffed all other respects and made her half myself.
  2. transitive To turn (someone) aside; divert.

daff⁴

  • /dæf/ UK

Rhymes with -æf

Where it comes from

From daffodil.

noun daffs

  1. UK, abbreviation, clipping, informal Clipping of daffodil Get your daffs here - £2 a bunch.

daff⁵

  • /dæf/ UK

Rhymes with -æf

noun daffs

  1. alternative Alternative form of daf (“type of drum”). Thus, there is considerable debate going on among Chaush whether performing daff music is in accordance with Islamic law or not,

daff⁶

  • /dæf/ UK

Rhymes with -æf

noun

  1. obsolete, uncountable A preparation of gypsum once used to adulterate food products.

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MLA

"daff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/daff. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

daff. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/daff

Chicago

"daff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/daff.

BibTeX
@misc{daff_2026,
  title = {daff},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/daff},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}