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jiffy

[jif-ee]

Origin

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noun, plural -fies. Informal.

a very short time; moment: to get dressed in a jiffy.

Also, jiff [jif] .

Origin:
1770–80; origin uncertain

Synonyms
instant, flash, second, trice.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To jiffy

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Jiffy is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

jiffy or jiff (ˈdʒɪfɪ, dʒɪf)

—n , pl jiffies, jiffs
	informal a very short time: wait a jiffy

[C18: of unknown origin]

jiff or jiff

—n

[C18: of unknown origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

jiffy

1785, "a moment, an instant," colloquial, origin unknown; said to be originally thieves' slang for "lightning."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

jiffy definition

[ˈdʒɪfi]

n.
a very short time. (See also in a jiff(y).) : Just a jiffy, I'll be there.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

jiffy definition

1. The duration of one tick of the computer's system clock. Often one AC cycle time (1/60 second in the US and Canada, 1/50 most other places), but more recently 1/100 sec has become common.
2. Confusingly, the term is sometimes also used for a 1-millisecond wall time interval. Even more confusingly, physicists semi-jokingly use "jiffy" to mean the time required for light to travel one foot in a vacuum, which turns out to be close to one *nanosecond*.
[Jargon File]
(2002-03-02)

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

jiffy

see under in a flash.