def

English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɛf/
Audio (AU): (file)
Rhymes: -ɛf

Etymology 1

Noun

def

Abbreviation of deficit.
Abbreviation of definition.

Etymology 2

Adverb

def

Abbreviation of definitely.

Etymology 3

Clipping of definitive or definitely, alternately an eye spelling of death referring to an absolute.^[1]^[2]

Adjective

def (comparative deffer, superlative deffest)

(African-American Vernacular, slang) excellent; very good
- 1988, “Run’s House”, in Tougher Than Leather, performed by Run-DMC:
  See I do this thing, so come pursue this king / One minor rhyme is all you just bring / Cause I’m the best I’m def, ask the rest they left

References

^ Safire, William (1988 September 25) “On Language: 'Eat Your Peas'”, in The New York Times‎^[1]: “Def, a clip of definitely is now the word for terrif, and on some campuses has out-neatened neat.”
^ Brent, Staples (1988 December 18) “On Language: 'High on the Five'”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:
Failing to see the word's antecedents, I suspected that def was either bogus or an orphan, lost to its slang ancestors through mispronunciation or misspelling […] Three critics of popular music failed to provide me with satisfactory antecedents. One suggested that def was an abbreviation of definitely, another suggested deference and the third had no hunch at all […] Russell Simmons, a founder of the company [Def Jam Recordings], said that his partner, in designing the logo for the company's record label, may have been the first to set def down in writing. Simmons also said that his associate had clearly misheard the word as it was then spoken in the streets. Def, Simmons said, was a mispronunciation of death.

Anagrams

DfE, FDE, FED, Fed, Fed., f***ed, fed

Middle English

Adjective

def

Alternative form of deef

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish دف (def), from Persian (daf).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dêf/

Noun

dȅf m (Cyrillic spelling де̏ф)

Declension

Declension of def

	singular	plural
nominative	dȅf	dèfovi
genitive	defa	defova
dative	defu	defovima
accusative	def	defove
vocative	defe	defovi
locative	defu	defovima
instrumental	defom	defovima

Zazaki

Etymology

Compare Persian (daf).

Noun

def

daf (a Persian frame drum)

[1] Safire, William (1988 September 25) “On Language: 'Eat Your Peas'”, in The New York Times‎^[1]: “Def, a clip of definitely is now the word for terrif, and on some campuses has out-neatened neat.”

[2] Brent, Staples (1988 December 18) “On Language: 'High on the Five'”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:
Failing to see the word's antecedents, I suspected that def was either bogus or an orphan, lost to its slang ancestors through mispronunciation or misspelling […] Three critics of popular music failed to provide me with satisfactory antecedents. One suggested that def was an abbreviation of definitely, another suggested deference and the third had no hunch at all […] Russell Simmons, a founder of the company [Def Jam Recordings], said that his partner, in designing the logo for the company's record label, may have been the first to set def down in writing. Simmons also said that his associate had clearly misheard the word as it was then spoken in the streets. Def, Simmons said, was a mispronunciation of death.

[1]

[2]

def

Contents

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Etymology 2

Adverb

Etymology 3

Adjective

Further reading

References

Anagrams

Middle English

Adjective

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

See also

Zazaki

Etymology

Noun