jaunty

Formerly spelt janty, from French gentil. See gentle, and compare genty. Doublet of genteel, gentile, and gentle.

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɔːn.ti/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (some accents) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒɑːn.ti/

jaunty (comparative jauntier, superlative jauntiest)

1. Airy; showy; finical.
2. (by extension) Characterized by an affected or fantastical manner.
3. Dapper or stylish.

   He wore a jaunty outfit that was all the rage.

4. Ostentatiously self-confident.

   He walked down the street with a jaunty swaggering step, as if daring others less perfectly satisfied to intrude upon his good mood.

• jauntily
• jauntiness
• jaunty car

jaunty (plural jaunties)

1. (nautical) A master-at-arms onboard a Royal Navy ship.

• Jaunting-Car in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)