fidget

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfɪd͡ʒ.ɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It comes from the obsolete and dialect verb fidge “to move restlessly” (1575),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} perhaps from Middle English fiken “to move quickly, fidget”,^[2][3][4] which is of Scandinavian origin.^[2][3] Barnhart compares Old Swedish fikja “to move briskly”.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fidget, a state of physical uneasiness shown by restless movements (1674).^[7][3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The noun was first used in the fidget or the fidgets.^[7][3] The verb is dated to 1754 by the OED and Merriam-Webster^[7][5] but to 1809 by Barnhart.^[3] The sense of a restless person is dated 1816 by the OED^[7] and 1837 by Barnhart,^[3] and recently fidget has also named a toy designed to be fiddled with.^[1]

Timeline

• 1575 – fidge, to move restlessly.^[3]
• 1674 – the fidget, restlessness.^[7][3][5]
• 1730–36 – fidgety.^[3]
• 1754 – verb, to move restlessly.^[7][5]
• 1816 – one who fidgets.^[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To move about restlessly or nervously.
2. To play or fiddle with something nervously.
3. To make someone restless or uneasy.

Noun

1. (often in plural) A state of restlessness shown by nervous movements.
2. A person who fidgets.

Word family

• fidgetingly
• fidgety

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press