Airyn.
/ˈɛːri/, U.S. /ˈɛri/ Mathematics and Physics.
1. attributive and in the genitive. Designating concepts introduced by Airy or arising out of his work in optics, mathematics, horology, etc., esp. designating a form of zenithal equal-area map projection.
ΚΠ
1843 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 133 37 Now these are precisely the changes in the form of the rings expressed by successive modifications of Mr Airy's formula, corresponding to the increments in the retardation which belong to the periodical colours of the films.]
1854 B. Powell Pereira's Lect. Polarized Light (ed. 2) i. 112 Airy's analysis for circularly polarized light.
1890 Cent. Dict. at Projection Airy's map-projection.
1918 Geogr. Jrnl. 52 235 M. Lallemand adopted Tissot's criterion... For myself, I think Airy's criterion the better. You get a rather larger maximum error, but a small average error.
1948 A. L. Rawlings Sci. Clocks & Watches (ed. 2) vii. 132 So far this chapter has been only a restatement of old knowledge, but we are now about to draw some new conclusions from Airy's Equation.
1961 Science 20 Oct. 1193/3 According to Rayleigh's criterion, two particles are resolved when their separation equals or exceeds one Airy unit.
1974 SIAM Rev. 16 47 Since Airy's distortion involves only local scale factors, it may not give an appropriate criterion for large scale measurements.
1990 P. Kearey & F. J. Vine Global Tectonics ii. 20 The oceanic crust..is in isostatic equilibrium with the continental crust according to the Airy mechanism.
1995 P. Woodward My Own Right Time viii. 63 George Airy (1827) wrote a paper on escapement theory... Horologists do not lightly discard famous names from the past, and one or two of the truths in Airy's paper seem to have become known as Airy's Laws. I am by no means sure that I know which they are.
2. Airy spiral n. (also Airy's spiral) each of the spirals of light that are visible when polarized light which has been passed through two plates of left-handed and right-handed quartz is viewed through crossed Nicol prisms; (also) these spirals collectively.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > polarization > [noun] > phenomena associated with
brush1817
vibration1869
undulose extinction1889
Airy spiral1895
1889 G. M. Hopkins Exper. Sci. xii. 258 By superposing a right hand quartz on a left hand quartz, the beautiful spirals discovered by Airy, and named after their discoverer, may be exhibited.]
1895 T. Preston Theory of Light xvii. 447 (heading) 272 Isochromatic lines—Airy's spirals.
1960 Acta Crystallographica 13 639/2 However, Airy's spiral..was not observed in the interference figure of the crystal.
1990 Jrnl. de Physique 51 2095 For a quartz plate observed in transmission with a circular analyzer, an Airy spiral with two branches can be observed, whereas Airy spirals with four branches occur if two quartz plates with the same thickness and opposite handedness are observed between crossed linear polarizers.
3. Airy integral n. (also Airy's integral) = Airy function n. at sense 6.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > function
function1758
exponential1784
potential function1828
syzygy1850
permutant1852
Green function1863
theta-function1871
Greenian1876
Gudermannian1876
discriminoid1877
Weierstrassian function1878
gradient1887
beta function1888
distribution function1889
Riemann zeta function1899
Airy integral1903
Poisson bracket1904
Stirling approximation1908
functional1915
metric1921
Fourier transform1923
recursive function1934
utility function1934
Airy function1939
transfer function1948
objective function1949
restriction1949
multifunction1954
restriction mapping1956
scalar function1956
Langevin function1960
mass function1961
1903 Ld. Kelvin in Nature 12 Feb. 337 Stokes, by mathematical supersubtlety, transformed Airy's integral into a form.
1922 G. N. Watson Treat. Theory Bessel Functions vi. 189 The reader will observe that Stokes' differential equation for Airy's integral is identical with one of the transformed forms of Bessel's equation.
1963 P. E. Hodgson Optical Model Elastic Scattering vi. 130 The cross-section for elastic scattering is then given by [formula] where Ai(x) is the Airy integral and x = q−⅓(θ−θr).
2000 M. Campell-Kelly in R. Rojas & U. Hashagen First Computers iv. 410 The integration of the Airy integral, which is the solution of the second-order differential equation: y″ = xy.
4. Airy points n. the points along the length of a bar at which it must be supported for the amount of bending (for a given number of points) to be minimized.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > stress or force exerted and tending to deform > [noun] > points where bar must be supported
Airy points1911
1911 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 85 441 Now the Airy points of support are so arranged that the ends of the bar are horizontal.
1953 K. J. Hume & G. H. Sharp Pract. Metrol. (1965) ii. xxix. 143 It should be most carefully noted that these points are not , repeat not , the Airy points, which are 0.577 l apart.
1975 G. Bram & C. Downs Manuf. Technol. i. 24 Supporting at the Airy points will reduce the deflection and out of plane of bar ends.
2006 Physica B. 385–6 1409/2 The ideal positions of the strips are referred to as the ‘Airy points’.
5. Airy disc n. (also Airy's disc) [described by Airy in Trans. Cambr. Philos. Soc. (1835) 5 285] the circular diffraction pattern formed when plane light waves pass through a point aperture; the bright central region of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > diffraction > [noun] > band, strip > Airy('s) disc
Airy disc1923
1923 Trans. Optical Soc. 24 7 The patterns with which the author deals are of the same order of magnitude as the Airy disc.
1936 H. H. Emsley Visual Optics ii. 42 The sizes of the central Airy disc and surrounding rings can be calculated.
1968 Jrnl. Photogr. Sci. 16 250 The relation of various image properties to the line width and to the aperture of a diffraction-limited lens can be computed from the light distribution in the Airy disk.
2004 Electronics News (Australia) (Nexis) Sept. The Airy disk diameter indicates the limit above which a single pixel will be dependent on its neighbours.
6. Airy function n. (also Airy's function) either of the two linearly independent solutions to the differential equation d2y/dx2−xy = 0, which are usually expressed in the form of an indefinite integral; (also) any linear combination of these functions satisfying this equation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > function
function1758
exponential1784
potential function1828
syzygy1850
permutant1852
Green function1863
theta-function1871
Greenian1876
Gudermannian1876
discriminoid1877
Weierstrassian function1878
gradient1887
beta function1888
distribution function1889
Riemann zeta function1899
Airy integral1903
Poisson bracket1904
Stirling approximation1908
functional1915
metric1921
Fourier transform1923
recursive function1934
utility function1934
Airy function1939
transfer function1948
objective function1949
restriction1949
multifunction1954
restriction mapping1956
scalar function1956
Langevin function1960
mass function1961
1939 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 61 419 The assumption that the stresses are derivable from an Airy's function is sufficient to uniquely determine the correct equations for the sheet.
1983 Sci. Amer. Feb. 66/1 The function that describes the relation between the optical length and the transmission of the interferometer (defined as the ratio of the strength of the transmitted beam to that of the incident beam) is called an Airy function and is quite important in the construction of an optical transistor.
2007 Jrnl. Functional Anal. 244 506 Thus, the exponent 3/2 in (1.3) can be seen as a reflection of the asymptotic behavior of the Airy function.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
airyadj.
/ˈɛːri/, U.S. /ˈɛri/ I. In the air.
1. Of or belonging to the air, esp. as distinguished from the earth, water, etc.; living or located in the air.Three of the signs of the Zodiac (Gemini, Libra, & Aquarius) are designated as airy.In quot. 1873, airy castle = castle in the air n. at castle n. 11.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > gas > air > [adjective] > of or belonging to the air > existing in the air
aerya1398
airlya1398
airya1398
airishc1450
aerial?1545
airsome1584
aerian1618
aericala1678
atmospheric1789
up in-the-air1848
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iii. xviii. 114 Þe hering is imaad parfite. And aiery, for alwey it is igendrid by aier ismyte.
?a1425 (?1373) Lelamour Herbal (1938) f. 13v (MED) Calamynte ys an herbe..þere bethe iij speces of þis erbe: þat one is stony, þat oþer is hery, and þe þirde watrye.
1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. Pref. Nether motion, nor time, nor ayrye impressions [= meteorological measurements] coulde hee aptely declare, but by the helpe of Geometrye.
1582 S. Batman Vppon Bartholome, De Proprietatibus Rerum viii. f. 124v/1 There bee three ayrye, that bee Gemini, Libra, Aquarius. And there bee three watrie, that bee Scorpio, Cancer, Pisces.
1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido iv. ii Eternal Jove..That with thy gloomy hand corrects the heaven, When airy creatures war amongst themselves.
1623 tr. A. Favyn Theater of Honour & Knight-hood iii. xi. 348 His pace equalled the flight of the ayrie Birdes.
1661 I. Walton Compl. Angler (ed. 3) i. 11 But the nightingale, another of my airy creatures, breathes such sweet loud music out of her instrumental throat.
a1695 Earl of Lauderdale tr. Virgil Georgicks ii. 27 in Wks. (1709) The angry Plough-Man fells a Wood Which long for airy Fowl a Covert stood.
1721 T. D'Urfey Grecian Heroine ii. i. 103 Another sort of Plot, call'd an Intrigue; In which this doughty Prince of airy Castles, Exerts his Love.
1794 J. Bidlake Poems 77 Where Libanus protrudes its cedar shade, The airy stork's capacious nest is made.
1856 Proc. Essex (Mass.) Inst. 1848–56 1 71 The dragon fly now quits his subaquatic life and..the new born airy insect emerges for higher regions.
1873 E. P. Roe What can she Do? xiii. 223 He was conscious that his airy castles were falling about him with a crash.
1924 Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. 39 59 The effect of this conjunction was heightened by the fact that it began in the preceding ‘airy’ sign of Aquarius and was completed in Pisces.
1946 W. P. Witcutt Blake, Psychol. Stud. viii. 112 The fiery Genii belong to feeling, the earthy gnomes to intuition, the watery nymphs to sensation, and the airy fairies to thought.
1997 M. Bidney Patterns of Epiphany 16 The natural ascent of fire is resisted by the countervailing quick descent of airy creatures [sc. birds] and earthly glories.
2. Located high in the air, lofty. Hence: exalted, celestial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > [adjective]
highOE
high-seta1382
sovereigna1425
airy1565
sublime?1567
haughty1570
supernal1599
aerial1608
upward1622
high-top1653
superincumbent1659
supern1703
highish1778
high-up1831
high-level1842
altitudinous1868
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [adjective] > great or considerable
higheOE
steepOE
heaven-highOE
highlyOE
brentc1400
hightc1480
hichty1513
procere1542
tall1548
spiringa1552
towereda1552
tower-like1552
upstretched1563
airy1565
excelse1569
haughty1570
topless1589
lofty1590
procerous1599
kiss-sky1603
skyish1604
topful?1611
aspiringc1620
sky-high1622
hiddy1632
tiptoed1632
sublime1635
towering1638
soaring1687
mountain high1693
clamberinga1717
skied1730
towery1731
pyramidic1740
skyey1750
skyward1792
skyscraping1797
exulting1798
high-reaching1827
steepling1892
high-rise1964
hi1972
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > mental image, idea, or fancy > [adjective] > only in imagination or unreal
imaginary?1510
imaginative1517
rational1530
fantastical1531
fantasied1561
airy1565
fancied1568
legendary1570
dreamed1597
fabled1606
ideal1611
fictive1612
affectual1614
insubstantiala1616
imaginatorya1618
supposititious1620
fictitious1621
utopian1624
utopic1624
notional1629
affective1633
fictiousa1644
notionary1646
figmental1655
suppositious1655
fict1677
visionary1725
metaphysical1728
unrealized1767
fancy1801
nice-spun1801
subjective1815
aerial1829
transcendental1835
cardboardy1863
mythical1870
cardboard1879
fictionary1882
figmentary1887
alternative1939
alternate1944
fantasized1964
ideate1966
fanciful-
fantastic-
1565 A. Golding tr. Ovid Fyrst Fower Bks. Metamorphosis i. f. 3 The dint wherof the ayrie toppes of highe Olympus brake.
1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 97 The aierie Teda [= a pine tree] beloued of the mountains, celebrated and preserued for the festiuall Oreades.
1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi iv. §2. 75 The words are so generall, that they include all and every mountain, under, not onely the Aiery heaven..but under the whole Heaven without exception.
1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur ii. 64 The loving Turtle to his Airy Nest, Flies with his moaning Mate, to Coe, and rest.
1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. iv. 700 Him thus exulting..A Spy distinguish'd from his airy stand.
1808 W. Scott Marmion vi. xix. 345 Beneath the caverned cliff they fall, Beneath the castle's airy wall.
1879 Ld. Tennyson Lover's Tale (new ed.) 11 Day hung From his mid-dome in Heaven's airy halls.
1909 A. C. Benson Poems 103 The planets seven Swing in their airy spheres.
1955 Charleston (W. Virginia) Gaz. 5 July 15/7 On a clear day you may see them [sc. the Rocky Mountains] 60 miles east of Denver, the high city fringed by their airy peaks.
3. Open to the free circulation of air; exposed to the open air; breezy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > refreshment or invigoration > [adjective]
cooling?c1425
comfortablec1440
refreshing1534
rousing1576
vegetant1576
reviving1579
refriscative1582
refrigerating1583
cordial1584
airy1591
freshing1591
animating1595
fertile1597
recreating1600
refective1611
refreshfula1614
comforting1623
refrigerant1626
erecting1654
cordialine1674
refocillating1675
corroboratinga1680
refectory1693
invigorating1694
restoring1697
freshful1734
enlivening1746–7
livelya1754
tonic1756
stimulatory1758
vivifying1768
energizing1786
stimulative1791
refreshening1807
vitalizing1813
stimulating1827
recuperative1843
invigorative1860
innerving1868
breezy1870
tonicizing1890
reparatory1893
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [adjective] > windy
windyc1000
airy1591
flatulent1671
blowing1678
breezy1751
west-windy1827
blowy1830
the world > matter > gas > air > fresh air > [adjective] > exposed to the open air
airy1591
1591 E. Spenser Muiopotmos in Complaints sig. T3 To range abroad..Through the wide compas of the ayrie coast.
1650 E. Williams Virginia's Discov. Silke-worms 9 Cut their branches which hung up in a drie corner..or any other coverture in airy places, will soone have their leaves drie.
1666 G. Harvey Morbus Anglicus 215 Walk daily in a pleasant, airy, and umbragious Garden.
a1744 A. Pope Windsor-Forest (new ed.) in Wks. (1751) I. 99 Here was she seen o'er airy wastes to rove, Seek the clear spring, or haunt the pathless grove.
1781 S. Johnson West in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets X. 1 He was seduced to a more airy mode of life, by a commission in a troop of horse.
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 195 Were I but the morning breeze, healthy and airy, As thou goest a walking I'd breathe in thine ear.
1863 M. E. Braddon Eleanor's Victory I. ii. 22 She had been accustomed to large airy rooms.
1927 V. Woolf To Lighthouse iii. viii. 277 The light seemed to reach them in that airy sunny garden where they sat.
1974 S. Clapham Greenhouse Bk. vi. 46 A slatted frame to create shady but airy conditions.
2003 C. N. Adichie Purple Hibiscus (2004) 10 Although the kitchen was airy, with the windows always open, my hair would still manage to absorb the spices.
4. Of an action or event: performed or taking place in the air.
ΚΠ
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 370 Two Doves, descending from their Airy Flight, Secure upon the grassy Plain alight.
1712 A. Pope tr. Statius Thebais in Misc. Poems 34 The rushing Winds..With equal Rage their airy Quarrel try, And win by turns the Kingdoms of the Sky.
1764 J. Grainger Sugar-cane iii. 111 So when two swarms in airy battle join, The winged heroes heap the bloody field.
1834 J. Wilson in Blackwood's Mag. May 775 Forest flies, ephemerals all like ourselves—but happier far in their airy waftage or watery voyaging, than the vain race of man!
1878 E. White Life in Christ (ed. 3) i. ii. 18 The instinct to build the cells..or to deposit honey in them if that has been the object of the airy voyage.
1907 Macmillan's Mag. Feb. 287 It was just a delicious state of being; a sense of airy living in a castle of cloud-shapes.
1942 Fitchburg (Mass.) Sentinel 19 Aug. 4/3 He made us see the bird making his airy flight.
1990 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 8 Aug. 6/4 The birds drifted in an airy dance, first one way then another.
II. Of the nature of air.Often more than one sense of the adjective is implied in the same expression.
5.
a. Composed of air. Hence: having the consistency or appearance of air; airlike, immaterial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > lack of density > [adjective]
thin849
subtilea1393
airya1398
subtlea1398
rarea1400
shirec1400
finea1425
solutec1440
intenuate1471
slender1528
ethereal1590
tenuous1597
spare1602
unsolid1611
unsolute1612
tenuious1634
etherical1656
airlike1821
wire-drawn1876
the world > matter > gas > air > [adjective]
airlya1398
airya1398
airish1562
airsome1584
aereous1594
airous1683
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. x. iv. 560 Fyre is clepid leye in eiry matter, and in erþy substaunce..fire is iclepid cole.
1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 1 Rather erthy, watry, airy, and fyry, than absolutely erth, water, ayre, & fyre.
1563 W. Fulke (title) A goodly gallerye..to behold the naturall causes of all kynde of meteors, as wel fyery and ayery, as watry and earthly.
1634 T. Johnson tr. A. Paré Chirurg. Wks. xxviii. viii. 1101 Vinegar is made by the corruption of wine, and the segregation of the fiery and aiery parts.
1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. v. 784 Plotinus seems to mean, an Airy or Spirituous Body, Quickned and Vitalized by the Soul, adhering to it after death.
1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey V. xx. 226 Blows have more energy than airy words.
1774 H. More Search after Happiness (ed. 4) 59 Airy spirits, you who love Cooling bow'r, or shady grove.
1813 C. Lamb in Philanthropist Jan. 50 Draughts of..wine, which are to be distilled into airy breath to tickle vain auditors.
1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust (1875) II. ii. v. 216 Though some nightly wanderer's vision Deem yon ring an airy spectre.
1958 I. Murdoch Bell xxii. 269 She thought how she had drawn it [sc. the bell] out of the lake and lifted it back into its own airy element.
1965 Isis 56 176 Sight occurs because light penetrates and lightens..airy matter.
2002 Art Bull. 84 623 Airy spirits entered the eyes..imprinting the image of the beloved in the heart.
b. Of a material, object, etc.: containing pockets of air; soft, spongy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [adjective] > spongy
moorisha1398
fungous?1440
spongy1539
fungy1578
sponge-like1594
airy1598
spongeous1607
fuzzy1616
spongoid1849
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Fungoso, spungie, airie, light, as a mushrome.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iv. vi. 194 Whereby..the putrifying parts do suffer a turgescence and inflation, and becomming airy and spumous..ascend unto the surface of the water. View more context for this quotation
1888 L. Pollock National Kindergarten Man. iii. v. 129 Lay it [sc. the baby] down on a nice, airy mattress, throw the neat coverlet over it.
1952 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 52 606 Moisture is absorbed and dissipated by the spongy and airy qualities of the wool.
1984 M. Peate Girl in Sloppy Joe Sweater 14 Cath's mother baked airy little biscuits she called ‘Nun's farts’.
2003 K. Kuitenbrouwer Way Up xiii. 187 What looked like topsoil was airy moss or blackened root mass from a felled tree.
6. depreciative. Like air in its (apparently) intangible or empty character.
a. Insubstantial; imaginary; slight, inconsequential.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > unsubstantiality or abstractness > [adjective]
flittingc1374
aerya1398
bottomlessa1413
hollowa1529
flittering1549
wanzing1571
aerial1581
slight1585
flit1590
windy1593
filmy1594
tenuous1597
unsubstantial1597
yeasty1598
thingless1599
airy1600
spare1602
spongy1603
insubstantial1607
baselessa1616
thina1616
insolid1618
insubstantiate1621
tenuious1634
bubble1635
thin-spun1638
subventaneous1646
unsubstanceda1658
whipped1673
aericala1678
huffy1678
blatherya1693
naughty1696
substanceless1784
vapoury1818
aeriform1827
airified1837
blow-away1858
non-substantial1858
unbased1860
evasive1881
stuffless1896
fabricless1905
lighter-than-air1909
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > insubstantial
thin?c1225
lighta1413
superficiala1425
sleevelessc1450
frivolous1549
frothy1593
windy1593
shallow1594
airy1600
ghostlessa1603
sleazy1648
tenuious1656
wishy-washy1693
gauzy1774
lathery1803
wish-washy1814
tenuousa1817
toy1821
flimsy1827
airy-fairy1857
facile1857
feeblish1882
popcorn1973
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream v. i. 16 The Poets penne..giues to ayery nothing, a locall habitation, And a name. View more context for this quotation
1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ i. iii. 5 That golden myne is proved a meer Chymera, an imaginary airy myne.
1686 A. Horneck Crucified Jesus xvii. 499 Do you believe you have Souls..: And will you prefer a few airy, volatile joys before their safety?
1720 J. Cockburn Hist. & Exam. Duels vii. 162 Philosophy is an airy Fabrick, a meer Chimerical Scheme, which Experience is daily pulling in pieces.
1749 T. Smollett Regicide i. iii. 6 Illusion all! the Phantoms of a Mind That o'er its present Fate repining, Courts The vain Resource of Fancy's airy Dreams.
1867 G. H. Lewes Hist. Philos. (ed. 3) I. Prolegomena v. p. cxv Speculation..abuts on vacancy, and peoples an airy void with airy nothings.
1876 J. B. Mozley Serm. preached Univ. of Oxf. iv. 94 In exposing evil they did not really believe in goodness; goodness was to them but an airy ideal.
1913 A. Cambridge Hand in Dark 10 Eternal Future seems, Like the eternal Past, unreal and dim, The airy region of a poet's dreams.
1967 Musical Times 108 1013 Writing airy nothings in a few lines about each of even a few works has never been one of my strong points.
2001 Time 9 July 62/1 Roberts typically fronts airy romantic comedies or treacly melodramas that might go direct to video if she weren't in them.
b. Of a person or a person's character, judgement, conduct, etc.: superficial, shallow. In later use: nonchalant, offhand; dismissive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > light-mindedness > [adjective]
lightlyeOE
lightOE
lightsomea1425
flying1509
light-minded?1529
tickle or light of the sear?1530
giddya1547
light-headed1549
gidded1563
giddish1566
fling-brained1570
tickle-headed1583
toyish1584
shallow1594
leger1598
corky1601
barmy1602
airy1609
unfirma1616
unballast1622
cork-brained1630
unballasted1644
kickshawa1655
unserious1655
unstudious1663
flirtishc1665
caper-witteda1670
shatter-headedc1686
corky-brained1699
flea-lugged1724
halokit1724
shatter-brained1727
scattered-brained1747
shatter-witted1775
flippant1791
butterfly-brained1796
scatter-brained1804
gossamer1806
shandy-pated1806
shattery1820
barmy-brained1823
papilionaceous1832
flirtatious1834
flirty1840
Micawberish1859
scatterheaded1867
flibberty-gibberty1879
thistledown1897
shatter-pated1901
trivial-minded1905
scattery1924
fizgig1928
ditzy1979
1609 G. Chapman Euthymiae Raptus sig. B3v An idle, ayrie man of Newes.
1672 O. Walker Of Educ. i. ix. 77 Buffoons, ridiculous, flatterers, apes, rimers, players, wits, airy, light, foolish.
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. iii. ii. 183 ‘And what of this?’ (says an airy Spark, no Friend to Meditation or deep Thought).
1727 P. Walker Passages Life & Death Three Worthies 141 It looked airy and frothy..and inconsistent with the solid, serious observing of such an affecting..dispensation.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 175. ⁋15 Him whose airy negligence puts his friend's affairs..in continual hazard.
1813 M. Faraday Diary 27 Nov. in B. Bowers & L. Symons Curiosity Perfectly Satisfyed (1991) iii. 36 Bibliomania is a disease apparently not known in France; indeed, it is difficult to conceive how their light airy spirits could be subjected to it.
1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend I. ii. xv. 309 ‘Our brother the matter?’ returned Eugene, with airy contempt. ‘Our brother is not worth a thought, far less a tear.’
1882 W. S. Gilbert Iolanthe ii. 26 For self-contained dignity, combined with airy condescension, give me a British Representative Peer!
1921 E. Ferber Girls x. 204 ‘Yoo-hoo!’ called Lottie with an airy assumption of cheeriness.
1950 F. H. Lyon tr. T. Heyerdahl Kon-Tiki Expedition iv. 97 Bengt told the officer, with an airy gesture of his cigar, that they had not come to see anything.
1998 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 23 Apr. 54/2 The airy complacency that presumes to redraw such realities does no service to the historical understanding of anyone in our own time.
c. Speculative, conjectural; notional; impractical.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > [adjective]
dreaminga1500
fantasied1590
chimerizing1604
vaporous1605
imaginative1626
whimsy1637
airy1643
whimmed1654
chimerical1660
figmentitious1660
notional1664
visionary1712
viewy1848
Barriesque1894
1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §9 Those wingy mysteries in Divinity, and airy subtleties in Religion. View more context for this quotation
1676 J. Glanvill Ess. iii. 50 I have some things to observe concerning the Reasons of their Devotion to that airy disputative Philosophy, and their Enmity to the Practical.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. xxxiii. 340 Airy notional Men, Enthusiasts, Projectors, Philosophers, and such like.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 273 He,..subliming himself into an airy metaphysician, was resolved to know nothing of his flocks but as men in general. View more context for this quotation
1814 R. Pinkerton in tr. Metropolitan Platon Present State Greek Church in Russia App. 336 The depths of error contained in the metaphysical and airy dreams of Swedenborg..and other such mystical writers.
1853 W. G. Simms Poems I. 151 An airy speculation sure, Since I can nothing see to speak for it, And tell me whence it comes.
1919 Times 23 July 8/2 We have had a surfeit of airy theories and doctrinaire platitudes.
1943 W. S. Churchill in Times 10 Nov. 8/5 No airy visions..must stand in the way of the simple duty of providing beforehand for food, work, and homes.
1961 S. E. Toulmin Foresight & Understanding iv. 78 What hampered Aristotle most in his matter theory..was not his being an airy philosopher: it was his very down-to-earthness.
2003 New Yorker 30 June 100/3 His genius was, in every realm, for airy abstraction brought to earth.
7. Cf. air n.1 IV.† b. Of a good air, manner, or presence. Obsolete.
a. Assuming airs; making lofty pretensions. rare. In later use Scottish & U.S. regional.The sense of quot. 1606 is unclear; it may be closer to 6b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > pretension to superiority > [adjective]
taunt?a1534
cocket1537
fastuous?1591
cobbing1599
whalebone1602
airy1606
fastigious1625
flatuous1630
high and mighty1633
vapouring1647
flatulent1658
hoity-toity1690
jackanapish1696
superior1711
penseful1788
uppish1789
pensy1790
stuck-up1812
glorified1821
toploftical1823
pretentious1832
sophomoric1837
highty-tighty1847
snippy1848
jumped-up1852
set-up1856
toplofty1859
cock-aloft1861
high-tone1864
high-toned1866
pretensivea1868
fancy-pants1870
hunched1870
snotty1870
head-in-air1880
uppity1880
jackanapsian1881
airified1882
sidey1898
posh1914
upstage1918
snooty1919
high-hatted1924
hincty1924
snot-nosed1941
posho1989
1606 W. Warner Continuance Albions Eng. xv. xcviii. 390 Ayrie Saints, our Hypocrits we meane, Of whom too many be obseru'd too subtile and vncleane.
1891 J. Maitland Amer. Slang Dict. Airy, conceited.
1902 J. Horne Canny Countryside (ed. 2) 20 The younger folks are a bit airier to begin to try an Englishy accent.
1954 L. Armstrong Satchmo 139 He had an airy way about him that'd make one think he was stuck up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [adjective] > of good manner or bearing
airy1689
1689 Gazophylacium Anglicanum sig. B8v An ayry man, from the Fr. Aire, comliness, or a good presence.
1699 S. Garth Dispensary iv. 47 The Slothful, negligent; the Foppish neat; The Lewd are airy, and the Sly discreet.
8. Like air in its lightness and buoyancy.
a. Of a material: light and delicate, as if capable of floating in the air. Also of a thing: light and delicate in appearance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > lightness > [adjective] > extremely > light as air
flit1590
aerial1606
airya1631
aery-light1667
blow-away1858
lighter-than-air1909
a1631 J. Donne Poems (1633) 164 Our two soules therefore..endure not yet A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to ayery thinnesse beate.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 97/1 Down, is the Dant, or pure soft airy Feathers which have no Quills.
1757 J. Dyer Fleece iii. 109 Ev'ry airy woof, Cheyney, and bayse, and serge..and the long countless list Of woollen webs.
1831 W. Scott in J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Sir W. Scott (1839) X. 47 The French chain-bridge looked lighter and airier than the prototype.
1865 Cornhill Mag. Mar. 302 Mademoiselle had left off her sober black silk, and floated in the airiest of chintz muslins.
1926 People's Home Jrnl. Feb. 48/4 The airy foliage is beautiful in itself and the blooms which develop late in the summer are especially welcome at that time.
1956 M. Moore Let. 5 Aug. in Sel. Lett. (1997) 532 The airy summer attire, the really neat wash coats of the students..impressed me deeply.
2003 G. Bailie Cloud 8 269 It was made of some airy material that lifted at the slightest breeze and almost let through the light.
b. Light in movement; flexible, elastic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > bodily movement > [adjective] > qualities of bodily movement > agile or nimble
lightOE
quiverOE
yepec1275
taitc1300
yap13..
delivera1375
swippera1387
wight1390
nimblea1400
yarea1400
yerna1400
smitherc1475
leger1483
agilea1500
liver1530
lightsome1567
wimble1579
nimble jointed1591
nimble shifting1591
agilious1599
nimbling1599
nimble spirited1611
expedite1612
fitchanta1616
airy1642
fantastic1645
volant1650
clever1691
light-limbed1695
spry1746
swack1768
swank1786
yauld1787
deliverly1820
slippy1847
nippy1849
springe1859
pantherish1869
pantherine1890
flippant1895
loose1907
Tarzanesque1933
Tarzan-like1943
1642 J. Howell Instr. Forreine Travell v. 65 The one Quick and Ayry, the other Slow and Heavy.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 388 Their Airy Limbs in Sports they exercise, And, on the Green, contend the Wrestler's Prize.
a1718 J. Bulkeley Last-day (1719) x. 319 To the fatal Balances sublime Poiz'd airy Step.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. xiii. 433 Several of sixty tripped it with almost as much glee and airy lightness, as those of sixteen.
1853 B. B. Edwards Writings II. 149 She had the light and airy movement of a winged spirit.
1878 C. Stanford Symbols Christ (new ed.) ix. 237 To still the airy foot and to quench the brightness of that radiant eye.
1939 H. Miller Cosmological Eye 77 Mandra walks thoughtfully, head down, towards the garden wall. Same undulating walk as before, same airy tread.
1948 ‘R. Crompton’ Family Roundabout xii. 130 A fly-catcher alighted suddenly on the top of a tall stake with the airy grace of a ballet dancer.
1993 Dance Internat. Summer 15 Liu provides the first official cheap thrill of competition week by hovering briefly overhead in an airy, well-extended grand jeté.
c. Lively, sprightly; cheerful, vivacious. Now chiefly Irish English.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > merriment > [adjective]
blitheOE
merryOE
golikc1175
lustya1225
playfulc1225
jollyc1305
merrya1350
jocund?c1380
galliardc1386
in (also on) a (merry, etc.) pinc1395
mirthfula1400
baudec1400
gayc1400
jovy1426
jocantc1440
crank1499
envoisiesa1500
as merry as a cricket1509
pleasant1530
frolic?1548
jolious1575
gleeful1586
buxom1590
gleesome1590
festival1592
laughter-loving1592
disposed1593
jucund1596
heartsomec1600
jovial1607
jovialist1610
laughsome1612
jocundary1618
gaysome1633
chirpinga1637
jovialissime1652
airy1654
festivous1654
hilarous1659
spleneticala1661
cocket1671
cranny1673
high1695
vogie1715
raffing?1719
festal1724
as merry (or lively) as a grig1728
hearty1755
tittuping1772
festive1774
fun-loving1776
mirthsome1787
Falstaffian1809
cranky1811
laughful1825
as lively as a cricket1832
hurrah1835
hilarious1838
Bacchic1865
laughterful1874
griggish1879
banzai1929
slap-you-on-the-back1932
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > lively, vivacious, or animated
jollyc1325
lightsomea1382
kedgec1440
fledge?1461
crank1499
frisky?a1500
sprightya1522
frisk1528
sprightful1550
quick-spirited1552
cranking1567
lively1567
quick-sprighted1579
aleger1590
bright-eyed1590
firking1594
sprightly1594
spirituous1601
great-stomached1607
spirity1615
spiritous1628
lifesomec1635
vivacious1645
rattlingc1650
quick-set1653
airy1654
animated1660
sparklinga1704
bob1721
vivace1721
animate1801
high-lifed1859
sassy1859
chippy1865
sparky1883
high-keyed1893
high life1903
peppy1914
pepful1915
jazzy1917
upbeat1947
zappy1969
sparkly1979
the mind > emotion > excitement > excitability of temperament > spiritedness or liveliness > [adjective]
jollyc1325
kedgec1440
fledge?1461
frisky?a1500
sprightya1522
frisk1528
sprightful1550
quick-spirited1552
lively1567
quick-sprighted1579
alive-like1582
aleger1590
firking1594
sprightly1594
sportive1595
mettled1599
alives-like1601
spirited1601
spirituous1601
mettle1606
great-stomached1607
free-spirited1613
spirity1615
spiritous1628
vivacious1645
rattlingc1650
sportful1650
airy1654
animated1660
racy1671
mettlesome1673
sparklinga1704
raffing?1719
bob1721
vivace1721
alive1748
lifey1793
spunky1831
gilpie1835
bubbling1860
chippy1865
bubblesome1879
colourful1882
sparky1883
bubbly1912
jazzy1917
spritzy1973
sparkly1979
kicking1983
1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 16 This Mood is much used in Ayery songs and Galliards.
1656 Life Anthony à Wood in Vindiciæ Antiquitatis Acad. Oxoniensis (1730) 502 The King..would have 24 Violins playing before him while he was at Meales, as being more airie and brisk than Viols.
1670 J. Covel Diary in J. T. Bent Early Voy. Levant (1893) 110 Instead of dull, mopish, vapour'd women..we found..bright and airy ladyes.
1714 T. Ellwood Hist. Life (1765) 95 An airy Piece she was; and very merry she made herself at me.
1776 M. Walker Lett. Duchess de Crui V. lvi. 20 Those whose character it is to be melancholy, are pleased with the most brisk and airy movements.
1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey V. vii. xii. 185 One of those short Marotique poems once so celebrated—perhaps a page culled from those gay and airy psalms, which, with characteristic gallantry, he dedicated ‘to the Dames of France!’
1862 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia III. xi. i. 5 A trace of airy exuberance, of natural exultancy.
1931 A. Bryant King Charles II ii. ix. 251 The airy monarch looked kindly at him over his shoulder, and..repeated the line of the old song.
1962 S. Ennis tr. P. Sayers Old Woman's Refl. vi. 33 Sean was a quiet, sensible boy,..and Brigid was young and airy when she married him.
1972 J. B. Keane Lett. Irish Parish Priest 32 ‘You're a gay and airy man my Lord,’ said he. ‘May the good God leave you gay and airy for many a day to come.’
1998 T. P. Dolan Dict. Hiberno-Eng. 2006 6/1 Airy, light-hearted.
d. Light, delicate, graceful in style or execution. Also, of a person or work of art: ingenious, witty.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > the arts in general > [adjective] > qualities of works generally
wateryc1230
polite?a1500
meagre1539
over-laboured1579
bald1589
spiritless1592
light1597
meretricious1633
standing1661
effectual1662
airy1664
severe1665
correct1676
enervatea1704
free1728
classic1743
academic1752
academical1752
chaste1753
nerveless1763
epic1769
crude1786
effective1790
creative1791
soulless1794
mannered1796
manneristical1830
manneristic1837
subjective1840
inartisticala1849
abstract1857
inartistic1859
literary1900
period1905
atmospheric1908
dateless1908
atmosphered1920
non-naturalistic1925
self-indulgent1926
free-styled1933
soft-centred1935
freestyle1938
pseudish1938
decadent1942
post-human1944
kitschy1946
faux-naïf1958
spare1965
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > elegance > [adjective] > moving lightly and quickly
winged1616
volant1650
airy1664
whisky1782
tripping1807
tripsome1890
1664 Duchess of Newcastle CCXI Sociable Lett. xliii. 89 Salt Wit is Heavy and Searching,..whereas Fresh Spring Wit is Light and Airy, Running with a Smooth and Quick Motion.
1674 J. Playford Introd. Skill Musick (ed. 7) i. 59 The Æolick Mood, was that which was of a more Airy and soft pleasing sound.
1711 J. Addison Spectator (1712) I. No. 9. 51 The Learned and Illiterate, the Dull and the Airy, the Philosopher and the Buffoon, can all of them bear a part.
1781 S. Johnson Pope in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets VII. 37 The Rape of the Lock, the most airy..of all his compositions.
1822 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 21/2 A neat, airy, smart-sailing cutter.
1879 Standard 27 May The airiest of wits, he was one of the gayest squib writers that ever lived.
1922 Davenport (Iowa) Democrat & Leader 3 Dec. 9/4 These [flower arrangements]..gave a delicate, airy artistry to the decorations.
1947 M. F. Bukofzer Mus. Baroque Era (1948) iii. 98 Schein adopted here the airy dialogue of the Monteverdian continuo canzonetta.
1992 Holiday Which? Jan. 57/3 The airy filigree pinnacles of the great octagonal lanterns look like huge jewelled crowns.
2005 R. Nidel World Music: Basics 367 Sierra Leonese tropical style, with light, airy guitar riffs.
Compounds
Parasynthetic, as airy minded, airy-headed, etc.
ΚΠ
1668 G. C. in H. More Divine Dialogues sig. a4 Not simply a Platonist, but an aiery-minded one.
1713 New Acad. Complements (new ed.) 298 'Tis Liberty alone I crave, I am so airy minded.
1818 H. H. Milman Samor viii. 234 Those holy hymns that scarce had ceas'd To float up in their airy-winged course.
1876 Appleton's Jrnl. 3 Sept. 254 Meanwhile, airy-headed Quentin..was in high dudgeon.
1885 H. James in Atlantic Monthly Nov. 596/1 The imaginative, airy-minded little bookbinder.
1955 N.Y. Times 23 May 26/4 The airy-textured, smooth, ‘no-bake’ cheesecake that Mrs. Anna Mason is introducing.
1998 Sports in Sky May 15/2 This new range [of sandals] from Camel offers the usual airy-toed freedom.
2004 New Yorker 2 Aug. 72/1 Only now, a little airy-headed from standing up fast, I register pure exhilaration.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1854
adj.a1398