flighty - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From flight +‎ -y. Compare Dutch vluchtig (“volatile; fleeting; cursory”), German flüchtig (“volatile; fleeting; momentary; quick”), Danish flygtig (“elusive; evasive”), Swedish flyktig.

• IPA(key): /ˈflaɪti/
• Rhymes: -aɪti

flighty (comparative flightier, superlative flightiest)

1. Given to unplanned and silly ideas or actions.
2. (of a bird) That flies easily or often.
   • 2013, Diego Gil, Henrik Brumm, Avian Urban Ecology‎[1]:
     "We know that flighty birds suffer from greater risk of raptor predation, and I assume that it is useful to understand the effects of urbanization because flighty species may be more vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance."
3. (dated) Swift.
   • 1962 July, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Modern Railways, page 44:
     Permanent way and other checks then somewhat slowed down this flighty progress.

• flightily
• flightiness
• unflighty

given to silly ideas

• Albanian: ëndërrimtar (sq)
• Asturian: antoxadiegu, antoxón
• Bulgarian: вятърничав (bg) (vjatǎrničav), лекомислен (bg) (lekomislen)
• Chinese:
  Mandarin: 輕浮 / 轻浮 (zh) (qīngfú), 輕率 / 轻率 (zh) (qīngshuài)
• Czech: nestálý, přelétavý, rozmarný (cs)
• Esperanto: facilanima
• Finnish: kevytmielinen (fi)
• French: candide (fr), insouciant (fr)
• Galician: livián, caprichoso (gl), voluble (gl), antolladizo (gl)
• German: flatterhaft (de), schrullig (de), albern (de)
• Greek: ελαφρόμυαλος (el) (elafrómyalos), επιπόλαιος (el) (epipólaios), φαντασιόπληκτος (el) (fantasiópliktos)
• Hebrew: קַל דַּעַת m (qal dá'at)
• Irish: aerach, aidhmeannach, arduallach, giodalach
• Russian: взбалмошный (ru) (vzbalmošnyj)
• Spanish: caprichoso (es), necio (es)
• Turkish: hercai (tr)
  Ottoman Turkish: خفیف (hafif)
• Welsh: penysgafn (cy), penchwiban (cy)