Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “spiffy” come from?

spiffy (English) comes from English -y, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.

spiffy (English): Dapper; fine or neat, especially in style of...

Definitions

  1. Dapper; fine or neat, especially in style of...

Ancestry of “spiffy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-yAdded to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
2Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
3Old English-iġ-y, -ic
4Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
5Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
6Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “spiffy”

  • spiv
  • spiffily
  • spivvery
  • spivvy
  • spivvish
  • spivery
  • spiffiness
  • spivish
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →