daft
- 1Silly or foolish; lacking good sense or intelligence, whether in a person or in an idea.
It was a daft plan to drive to Cornwall on a bank holiday weekend, and we sat in traffic for six hours.
Don't be daft. You can't carry all that shopping home on your own.
UsageCommon in don't be daft and a daft idea; forms dafter, daftest.
Similarsilly, dumb, idiotic, dopey, goofy
Oppositesensible, wise, clever, smart
Note
The everyday sense sits at the end of a long slide in meaning. Old English dæfte meant "accommodating, meek", from a root for "fitting"; Middle English dafte ranged from "humble, modest" to "awkward, dull, boorish", the road from meek to foolish. That gentle starting point is the "meek, mild" meaning.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- The modern foolish sense developed from earlier senses meaning gentle or meek. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English dæfte meant accommodating or meek. en.wiktionary.org
- The word descends from a root meaning fitting. en.wiktionary.org
- Middle English dafte had senses including humble, modest, awkward, dull and boorish. en.wiktionary.org
- Daft has an obsolete meaning gentle, meek or mild. en.wiktionary.org
- 2Not in one's right mind; crazy or mad, even to the point of insanity.
Alone in the lighthouse all winter, the old keeper went daft and began writing letters to the gulls.
The family next door are sure he's daft, since he stands in the garden every night arguing with the hedge.
UsageUsed in go daft and be daft. Context tells you whether it means 'crazy' or simply 'silly'.
Similarcrazy, bonkers, bananas, crackers, batty
Note
In nineteenth-century writing the stronger sense often has a Scottish voice, and it usually stands after a verb. Walter Scott, in 1824, has a character call someone "daft, sir, clean daft", clean meaning "completely"; Sarah R. Whitehead pairs it with drunk: "either drunk or daft." Before a noun, as in a daft idea, the word drifts back toward the merely "foolish" meaning, so position often decides how serious it is.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- The Scott work containing the quotation was first published in 1824. walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk
- A character in Walter Scott's Redgauntlet says “daft, sir, clean daft.” gutenberg.org
- Clean means completely in this expression. en.wiktionary.org
- Sarah R. Whitehead's writing contains the phrase “either drunk or daft.” en.wiktionary.org
Less common meaning
- 3Gentle and mild in nature or manner, meek rather than forceful or harsh.
Practice
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Origin
The word may go back ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₂ebʰ- ("to fit together, fitting"), through Proto-West Germanic *daftī ("fitting, suitable") and Old English dæfte ("gentle, meek, mild, accommodating"). Middle English dafte or defte meant "humble, modest, gentle, having good manners" and also "awkward, dull, boorish." Old English dafnian ("to be fitting or becoming") and Russian dóbryj ("good") are related. Compare silly, which moved from "blessed, good, innocent" to "foolish." Daft was perhaps influenced by daff ("fool, to be foolish"), but the two words are not related.