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Webster 1913 Edition


Tiff

Tiff

,
Noun.
[Originally, a sniff, sniffing; cf. Icel.
[GREEK]efr
a smell,
[GREEK]efa
to sniff, Norw.
tev
a drawing in of the breath,
teva
to sniff, smell, dial. Sw.
tüv
smell, scent, taste.]
1.
Liquor; especially, a small draught of liquor.
“Sipping his tiff of brandy punch.”
Sir W. Scott.
2.
A fit of anger or peevishness; a slight altercation or contention. See
Tift
.
Thackeray.

Tiff

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Tiffed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Tiffing
.]
To be in a pet.
She
tiffed
with Tim, she ran from Ralph.
Landor.

Tiff

,
Verb.
T.
[OE.
tiffen
, OF.
tiffer
,
tifer
, to bedizen; cf. D.
tippen
to clip the points or ends of the hair, E.
tip
, n.]
To deck out; to dress.
[Obs.]
A. Tucker.

Webster 1828 Edition


Tiff

TIFF

,
Noun.
Liquor; or rather a small draught of liquor. [Vulgar.]
1.
A pet or fit of peevishness.
[I know not where this word is used in the latter sense.]

TIFF

,
Verb.
I.
To be in a pet. [Low.]

TIFF

,
Verb.
T.
To dress. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024


Tiff

Tiff

See also: tiff and TIFF

English

Proper noun

Tiff

  1. A diminutive of the female given name Tiffany.

tiff

tiff

See also: Tiff and TIFF

English

Noun

tiff (plural tiffs)

  1. A small argument; a petty quarrel.
    • 1840, William Makepeace Thackeray, Catherine: A Story
      There’s Tom, now, since this tiff with Mrs. Cat, the scoundrel plays the Grand Turk here!
  2. Liquor; especially, a small draught of liquor.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      sipping his tiff of brandy punch.
Translations

Verb

tiff (third-person singular simple present tiffs, present participle tiffing, simple past and past participle tiffed)

  1. (intransitive) To quarrel.
    • Landor
      She tiffed with Tim, she ran from Ralph.
Synonyms
  • See also Wikisaurus:squabble
Translations

Etymology 2

Middle English tiffen, Old French tiffer, tifer, to bedizen; compare D. tippen to clip the points or ends of the hair, English tip (noun).

Verb

tiff (third-person singular simple present tiffs, present participle tiffing, simple past and past participle tiffed)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To deck out; to dress.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of A. Tucker to this entry?)

Anagrams