affy

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English affien (“to have faith, trust”),[1] from Anglo-Norman afier, affier, affyer, Middle French afier, affier, affyer, and Old French afier (“to agree to marry; to believe, trust; to assure, promise; to confide in; to pledge, swear”), from Late Latin affidare (“to betroth; to pledge faith”), from Latin af- (a variant of ad- (intensifying prefix)) + Vulgar Latin *fīdāre (“to trust”)[2][3] (from Latin fidēre, the present active infinitive of fīdō (“to put confidence in, trust; to rely upon”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- (“to convince; to trust”)).

Pronunciation

Verb

affy (third-person singular simple present affies, present participle affying, simple past and past participle affied) (obsolete)

  1. (transitive)
    1. To have faith in (someone); to trust.
    2. Chiefly followed by that or to: to formally affirm or promise (something).
    3. Chiefly of a man: to formally promise to marry (someone, chiefly a woman); to be engaged to; also, to marry (someone); to espouse. [c. 16th–17th c.]
    4. (chiefly passive voice) Chiefly followed by to, unto, or with: often of a parent or guardian: to formally promise that (someone) be married to another person; to affiance, to betroth.
    5. (figurative) Followed by in, to, or unto: to bind or pledge (someone or something) to another person or thing.
  2. (intransitive)
    1. Chiefly followed by in, on, and upon: to rely on, to trust. [14th–17th c.]
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Shortening of affidavit.

Pronunciation

Noun

affy (plural affies)

  1. (slang) An affidavit to be signed by a contest winner to confirm eligibility.
    • 1997, Sandretto, “Singapore Contest....”, in alt.consumers.sweepstakes (Usenet):
      If you have won a monthly prize, they will send you an affy and have you send it back. Then your prize comes from a courier.
    • 1999, Suzy, “Any BIG winners?”, in alt.consumers.sweepstakes (Usenet):
      The contest ended in mid November, I got the affy Christmas eve, and I picked up the car February 4th or 5th.

References

  1. ^ “affīen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ Compare “affy, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2024.
  3. ^ “affy, v.”, in Collins English Dictionary.

Anagrams

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