Wiktionary

tiff

See also: Tiff and TIFF

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Originally, a sniff, sniffing; compare Icelandic word for a smell.

Noun

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tiff (plural tiffs)

  1. A small argument; a petty quarrel.
    • 1839 May – 1840 February, Ikey Solomons, Jun. [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], “Catherine: A Story”, in Catherine: A Story. Little Travels. The Fitz-Boodle Papers. etc. etc. (Works of William Makepeace Thackeray in Twenty-four Volumes; 22), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1869, →OCLC, page 157:
      There’s Tom, now, since this tiff with Mrs. Cat, the scoundrel plays the Grand Turk here!
    • 1997, Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; republished New York: Vintage Books, 1998, →ISBN, page 30:
      Something to laugh off, not make a big issue out of. We’d had a little tiff and would have forgotten about it in a couple of days.
    • 2000 September 30, Guy Browning, “How to... have a tiff”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      At the other extreme, couples who are married with children have heavily disguised tiffs. A man saying in a slightly strained way, 'I'm going to turn the compost', is actually saying, 'And that's all you are, Jean, compost!' Of course, what happens is eventually he apologises, they cry, make love, have another child, get overtired and the tiffing continues.
    • 2013 June 18, Alexandra Topping, Ben Quinn, quoting Charles Saatchi, “Charles Saatchi: accepting police caution was better than the alternative”, in The Guardian‎[2], →ISSN:
      “About a week ago we were sitting outside a restaurant having an intense debate about the children, and I held Nigella [Lawson]'s neck repeatedly while attempting to emphasise my point,” he said. “There was no grip, it was a playful tiff. The pictures are horrific but give a far more drastic and violent impression of what took place. […] ”
  2. Liquor; especially, a small draught of liquor.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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tiff (third-person singular simple present tiffs, present participle tiffing, simple past and past participle tiffed)

  1. (intransitive) To quarrel.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:squabble
Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English tiffen, Old French tiffer, tifer ("to bedizen"; > Modern French attifer), from Frankish *tipfōn, *tippōn (“to decorate”), perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *tuppaz (“top, tip”). Compare Dutch tippen (“to clip the points or ends of the hair”), Old Norse tippa (“point, tip”), English tip (noun), Middle High German zipfen (“to prance; skip; sashay; bob; flutter; frisk”).

Verb

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tiff (third-person singular simple present tiffs, present participle tiffing, simple past and past participle tiffed)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To deck out; to dress.
    • 1768-1777, Abraham Tucker, The Light of Nature Pursued:
      Is the Miss under a force when she culls among her trinkets with curious toil to tiff herself out in the most engaging manner

Etymology 3

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Verb

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tiff (third-person singular simple present tiffs, present participle tiffing, simple past and past participle tiffed)

  1. (British India, intransitive) To have lunch.
    • 1841, The Asiatic journal and monthly register:
      Besides that one to which the permanent residence was attached, Mr. Augustus had several outlaying factories, which he visited from time to time, to superintend the manufacture of his indigo; at all of these he had little bungalows, or temporary abodes, where we tiffed and passed the heat of the day.
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Etymology 4

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Noun

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tiff (plural tiffs)

  1. Alternative form of TIFF

References

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“tiff”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

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Nigerian Pidgin

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Etymology

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from English thief.

Noun

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tiff

  1. thief

Verb

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tiff

  1. to steal
    • 2024, “'Dem tiff my pikin three hours afta I born am for hospital'”, in BBC News Pidgin‎[3]:
      Dis hospital na one of di biggest hospitals for Lafia, wey get beta security. But one unknown woman allegedly tiff Mrs Wosilat Suleiman pikin.
      This hospital is one of the largest hospitals in Lafia, with good security. However, an unknown woman allegedly stole Mrs. Wosilat Suleiman's child.
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