deftig

Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *daftuz (“agreeable, suitable, convenient”). Compare English daft, deft, Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌳𐍉𐍆𐍃 (gadōfs, “suitable”), Latin faber (“craftsman, skillful”) and Russian добро (dobro, “wealth, good”). German deftig was borrowed from the Dutch word.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

deftig (comparative deftiger, superlative deftigst)

1. stylish, distinguished, genteel (showing high social class)
2. pompous

Inflection

Declension of deftig
uninflected	deftig
inflected	deftige
comparative	deftiger
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		deftig	deftiger	het deftigst het deftigste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	deftige	deftigere	deftigste
	n. sing.	deftig	deftiger	deftigste
	plural	deftige	deftigere	deftigste
definite		deftige	deftigere	deftigste
partitive		deftigs	deftigers	—

Synonyms

• (pompous): statig

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German

Etymology

Via (deprecated template usage) [etyl] German Low German from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Dutch deftig, itself seemingly from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] West Frisian. The original sense of the Dutch word is not quite clear but would have run on the lines of “suitable, solid, weighty”. The further semantic development has been such that the word now, arguably, has opposite senses in German (“coarse, rustic”) and Dutch (“refined, genteel”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛftɪç/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛftɪk/ (common form in southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: def‧tig

Adjective

deftig (comparative deftiger, superlative am deftigsten)

1. firm, rough, coarse (most often of speech or behaviour)
2. (food) substantial, hearty, rustic
3. (dated or regional) solid, presentable

Derived terms

• Deftigkeit

Further reading

• “deftig” in Duden online