Link Centre Dictionary

spiffy

UK/ˈspɪfi/ US/ˈspɪfi/ rare informal

adjective

1.

marked by smartness in dress and manners

  • “a dapper young man”
  • “a jaunty red hat”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

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

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.