lighty

See also: Lighty

English

Etymology 1

Noun

lighty (plural lighties)

1. (South Africa, slang) A young man; a boy.

Alternative forms

• lightie

Etymology 2

Adverb

lighty

1. (obsolete) Alternative form of lightly; however, more often a misspelling of lightly.
   • 1784, Thomas Percy, “The Hermit of Warkworth, a Northumberland Ballad”, in Thomas Evans, Old Ballads, Historical and Narrative, with Some of Modern Date, volume 3, page 23:

     That heart, she said, is lighty priz'd, / Which is too lighty won; / And long shall rue that easy maid / Who yields her love too soon.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• liȝty, liȝti

Etymology

From light (noun) +‎ -y, -i (suffix forming an adjective).

Adjective

lighty

1. bright, illuminated, spiritually enlightened

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)

References

• “lightī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2018, retrieved 1 November 2019.