daftadj.

Etymology: In early Middle English daffte , corresponding to Old English gedæfte mild, gentle, meek < Old Germanic *gadaftjo-z , < gadafti verbal noun from stem daƀ-, in Gothic gadaban to become, be fit, Old English past participle gedafen becoming, fit, suitable. The æ here is apparently for umlaut ę before ft , st , which explains the two-fold Middle English development daft and deft . The primary meaning of the adjective must have been ‘becoming, fit’; compare the adverb gedæftlíce fitly, suitably, seasonably, and the verb gedæftan to make fit or ready, to prepare; from ‘fit, ready, apt’ came the general later sense of deft ; from ‘becoming, decens ’ as said of persons, came that of ‘meek, mild, innocent’, and from ‘innocent, inoffensive’ apparently that of ‘irrational’ said of beasts, and of ‘silly, foolish, deficient in sense’ as said of persons: compare a common sense of ‘innocent’, and the sense-history of silly adj., n., and adv. See also deft adj.daff n.¹, ‘a fool,’ is found c1325; its relationship to daft is uncertain; if originally distinct, it may have contributed to the development of the sense ‘foolish’ here.