jiffy
/ˈd͡ʒɪ.fi/ noun
Forms jiffies giffy
- noun (colloquial) A very short, unspecified length of time. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
- noun (computing) A unit of time defined by the frequency of its basic timer – historically, and by convention, 0.01 of a second, but some computer operating systems use other values.
- noun (electronics) The length of an alternating current power cycle (1/60 or 1/50 of a second).
- noun (physics) The time taken for light to travel a specified distance in a vacuum, usually one centimetre (approximately 33.3564 picoseconds), but sometimes one foot or the width of a nucleon.
Synonyms
instant jiff mo sec tick bat of an eye bit blink of an eye crack eyeblink flash glimpse half a mo jot minute moment New York minute New York second no time second heartbeat split second trice twinkling wink
Etymology
Origin unknown; said to have been thieves’ cant for “lightning”. Also formerly written "giffy", to which a connection with gliff has been proposed. As a kind of envelope, a genericization of Jiffy bag.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Perh. corrupt. fr. gliff.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “jiffy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details