fidget English · revision 1359

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈfɪd͡ʒ.ɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from the obsolete and dialect verb ''fidge'' “to move restlessly” (1575),^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) perhaps from Middle English ''fiken'' “to move quickly, fidget”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) which is of Scandinavian origin.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) Barnhart compares Old Swedish ''fikja'' “to move briskly”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''The fidget'', a state of physical uneasiness shown by restless movements (1674).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun was first used in ''the fidget'' or ''the fidgets''.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) The verb is dated to 1754 by the OED and Merriam-Webster^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) but to 1809 by Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1995) The sense of a restless person is dated 1816 by the OED^(OED 1989) and 1837 by Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1995) and recently ''fidget'' has also named a toy designed to be fiddled with.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1575 – ''fidge'', to move restlessly.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1674 – ''the fidget'', restlessness.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1730–36 – ''fidgety''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1754 – verb, to move restlessly.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1816 – one who fidgets.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To move about restlessly or nervously.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To play or fiddle with something nervously.^(AHD)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To make someone restless or uneasy.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(often in plural)'' A state of restlessness shown by nervous movements.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A person who fidgets.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fidgetingly]]

+ * [[fidgety]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}