flighty

Etymology

From flight + -y. Compare Dutch vluchtig (“volatile; fleeting; cursory”), German flüchtig (“volatile; fleeting; momentary; quick”), Danish flygtig (“elusive; evasive”), Swedish flyktig.

adj

  1. Given to unplanned and silly ideas or actions.
  2. (of a bird) That flies easily or often.
    We know that flighty birds suffer from greater risk of raptor predation, and I assume that it is useful to understand the effects of urbanization because flighty species may be more vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance. 2013, Diego Gil, Henrik Brumm, Avian Urban Ecology
  3. (obsolete) Swift.
    Permanent way and other checks then somewhat slowed down this flighty progress. 1962 July, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Modern Railways, page 44

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/flighty), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.