drifty en · ADJ
Etymology
Etymology tree English drift Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English drifty From drift + -y.
Meanings
-
Tending or seeming to drift.
The first time I heard them struggling with their electric instruments and singing in cracked falsettos, I imagined a line of fishing boats puttering off into the fogbound sea of a cold New England morn. "Ah, Shrimp Boat," I exclaimed, "what a fine name for sounds so churning and drifty!"
1988 November 18, Renaldo Migaldi, “Shrimp Boat”, in Chicago Reader:
- (dialectal) Abounding with driving snow or drift.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| driftiest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| driftier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |