# daft

> English word · Adjective · IPA /dɑːft/ · frequency rank #16,207

## Definitions
1. Foolish, silly, stupid.
2. Crazy, insane, mad.
3. Gentle, meek, mild.

## Etymology
From Middle English dafte, defte (“gentle; having good manners; humble, modest; awkward; dull; boorish”), from Old English dæfte (“accommodating; gentle, meek, mild”), from Proto-West Germanic *daftī (“fitting, suitable”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₂ebʰ- (“fitting; to fit together”). Related to Old English dafnian, dafenian (“to be fitting, appropriate, or becoming”), Russian до́брый (dóbryj, “good”). Doublet of deft.
Compare silly which originally meant “blessed; good, innocent; pitiful; weak”, but now means “laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance; mentally simple, foolish”.
Unrelated to, though perhaps influenced by, daff (“fool (n.); to be foolish (v.)”) (past form daffed).

## Easily confused with
- **DT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dt)
- **day** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-day)
- **dan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dan)
- **dam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dam)
- **dot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dot)
- **def** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-def)
- **das** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-das)
- **dat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dat)
- **dar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dar)
- **dai** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dai)
- **dal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dal)
- **dak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dak)
- **dah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dah)
- **DAW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-daw)
- **Dax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dax)
- **dao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dao)
- **DDT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-ddt)
- **dag** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dag)
- **dit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dit)
- **DFW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/daft-vs-dfw)

## Common misspellings (6)
`adft`, `dafft`, `daftt`, `datf`, `ddaft`, `dfat`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/daft