derf

Scots

Alternative forms

• derff, durf

Etymology

From Middle English derf (“bold, daring, strong”), from Old English dearf, deorf (“bold”), from Proto-Germanic *derbaz. Cognate with Danish djærv (“bold”), Faroese djarvur (“bold”), Icelandic djarfur (“bold”), Norwegian djerv (“bold”), Swedish djärv (“bold”).

Adjective

derf (comparative mair derf, superlative maist derf) (archaic)

1. strong, powerful
2. daring, bold

Derived terms

• derfly
• derfness

References

• “derf”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.