Nearby Words

airy

[air-ee] Origin

air·y

[air-ee]
adjective, air·i·er, air·i·est.
1.
open to a free current of fresh air; breezy: airy rooms.
2.
consisting of or having the character of air; immaterial: airy phantoms.
3.
light in appearance; thin: airy garments.
4.
light in manner; sprightly; lively: airy songs.
5.
light in movement; graceful; delicate: an airy step.
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6.
light as air; unsubstantial; unreal; imaginary: airy dreams.
7.
visionary; speculative.
8.
performed in the air; aerial.
9.
lofty; high in the air.
10.
putting on airs; affected; snobbish: an airy debutante posing for society photographers.
COLLAPSE

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English ayery; see air1, -y1

aerie, airy.


4. jaunty, merry. 6. fanciful, illusory.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Airy is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Collins
World English Dictionary
airy (ˈɛərɪ)
 
adj , airier, airiest
1.  abounding in fresh air
2.  spacious or uncluttered
3.  nonchalant; superficial
4.  visionary; fanciful: airy promises; airy plans
5.  of or relating to air
6.  weightless and insubstantial: an airy gossamer
7.  light and graceful in movement
8.  having no material substance: airy spirits
9.  high up in the air; lofty
10.  performed in the air; aerial

Airy (ˈɛərɪ)
 
n
Sir George Biddell. 1801--92, British astronomer, noted for his estimate of the earth's density from gravity measurements in mines; astronomer royal (1835--81)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

airy
late 14c., "of the air, made of air," from air (1). Meaning "breezy" is attested from 1590s; that of "lively" is from 1640s. Sense of "vain, unsubstantial" is from 1580s. Disparaging airy-fairy is attested from 1920 (earlier in a sense of "delicate or light as a fairy," which
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is how Tennyson used it in 1830).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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