jiffy

Meaning

Noun

• A very short, unspecified length of time.
• 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.
• The length of an alternating current power cycle (1/60 or 1/50 of a second).
• The time taken for light to travel a specified distance in a vacuum, usually one centimetre, but sometimes one foot or the width of a nucleon.
• , a padded envelope.

Related

Similar words

• jif
• jiff

Origin

• 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.