Badd

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A slang spelling of bad, used to mean remarkably good, impressive, or tough in a admirable way
2. Informal term for something outstanding or cool, playing on the reversed sense of a common word for poor
3. Describing a person or thing that is superb, formidable, or stylishly impressive in casual speech

Etymology: Written as "badd," this is a nonstandard, emphatic spelling of "bad," with the doubled consonant stretching the word the way speakers stretch vowels in "sooo good." Spellings like this appear mainly in informal writing, such as messages and captions. The base word has an uncertain origin. It first appears in Middle English, and etymologists have proposed a few possible sources, but none is firmly established. The original sense was something like "worthless" or "of poor quality," and it has since spread to cover moral wrongdoing, harm, and illness. Slang has also reversed the word's usual sense, so that "bad" can mean "excellent" or "impressive," especially in African American English. The spelling "badd" follows the same informal logic as that reversal, and it is used in a similar, emphatic way.