What does davy mean?
"Davy" is an informal British legal term for an affidavit — a written statement of fact that the maker swears or affirms to be true, typically sworn before a solicitor, commissioner for oaths, or other authorised officer. The word arose as a colloquial shortening of "affidavit", much as other formal legal vocabulary was worn down into everyday slang by those who used it daily. In practice, one might sign, take, or swear a davy rather than attend court in person, allowing evidence to be put before a tribunal or registry on paper. The term belongs to informal professional register: lawyers and court staff understand it instantly, while most general readers will meet it only in older fiction or courtroom journalism. Outside Britain it is little known, and in any formal document the full word "affidavit" is always used instead.
nounAn affidavit; a sworn written statement of fact. In British slang, 'davy' is an informal shortening of 'affidavit'.
- An affidavit; a sworn written statement of fact (informal British legal slang).
"The solicitor asked the witness to sign a davy before the hearing."
"The barrister submitted a signed davy to support the application."
"Rather than appear in person, he swore a davy setting out what he had seen."
The plural follows the standard -y → -ies pattern for nouns ending in a consonant plus y.
"The clerk filed three davies supporting the motion."
Lawyers don't just swear affidavits — in British legal slang they 'take a davy', and the word is hiding the Latin root of 'faithful' inside it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of davy
"Davy" originated as informal British slang, a clipped form of "affidavit", which itself comes from Medieval Latin "affidare", meaning "to pledge on faith" — from Latin "fides" (faith) plus the prefix "ad-". The clipping reflects a common pattern in English legal jargon, where long technical terms were abbreviated in everyday speech among practitioners. It shares this Latin root of faithfulness with words such as "fidelity", "confide", and "fiduciary".
How davy is actually used
Informal register, used mainly within British legal circles; in formal writing 'affidavit' is preferred.
Easily confused with davy
'Davy' is the slang term for an affidavit, whereas 'Davey' is primarily a spelling of the personal name Dave (from David), though the two spellings are sometimes used interchangeably for the name.