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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

dandy.

A man very concerned about his physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈdæn.di/
  1. A man very concerned about his physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self.

  2. Something excellent in its class.

  3. A yawl, or a small after-sail on a yawl.

    UK
  4. A dandy roller.

  5. A small glass of whisky.

    Ireland · UK · archaic · slang
  6. A horse-drawn railway carriage used on some branch lines.

    historical
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Scots dandy (“a fop; one who is well-dressed”). Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Dandy, a diminutive of Andrew, yet the Scots word is used also in reference to women. Alternatively, possibly a back-formation of Scots dandilly, dandillie (“one who is spoiled or pampered; a "pet"”). Compare English dandle and dander.

adj/ˈdæn.di/
  1. Like a dandy, foppish.

  2. Very good; better than expected but not as good as could be.

    That's all fine and dandy, but how much does it cost?
  3. Excellent; first-rate.

    What a dandy little laptop you have.
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Scots dandy (“a fop; one who is well-dressed”). Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Dandy, a diminutive of Andrew, yet the Scots word is used also in reference to women. Alternatively, possibly a back-formation of Scots dandilly, dandillie (“one who is spoiled or pampered; a "pet"”). Compare English dandle and dander.

noun/ˈdæn.di/
  1. A boatman, a rower.

    India
  2. A Shaiva mendicant who carries a small rod.

    India
  3. An open sedan chair formed by suspending a rudimentary frame or strong cloth from a pole or set of poles.

    India
Where this word comes from

From Hindi डंडी (ḍaṇḍī, “rod, pole”), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀟𑀁𑀟𑀺𑀕𑀸 (ḍaṃḍigā), from Sanskrit दण्डिका (daṇḍikā), from दण्ड (daṇḍa) + -इका (-ikā).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.