Featherheaded

Featherheaded is an adjective used to describe a person who is considered flighty, impractical, or lacking in sound judgment. It conveys a sense of light-headedness or frivolity in outlook and is typically used with a mildly dismissive or humorous tone. In contemporary English, the term is relatively uncommon and often replaced by words like flighty, capricious, or frivolous.

Etymology and usage history: The word combines feather, highlighting lightness, with head, referring to mental faculties. It appears in Early Modern English and has appeared in literary and satirical contexts since at least the 16th century. Over time, featherheaded has largely fallen out of everyday use, remaining mainly in historical or stylistic writing. It can be used to describe a person, a habit, or an attitude deemed unserious or lacking in careful judgment.

Variants and related terms: The form feather-headed or featherheaded is encountered in older texts. Related terms include featherbrained and airheaded, which share a similar sense of lack of seriousness or intellect, but featherheaded often carries a more antiquated or genteel nuance. In modern prose, speakers may prefer adjectives such as flighty, imprudent, or impractical to convey a comparable idea without the historical connotations.

See also featherbrained, airheaded, light-headed, frivolous.