Airy means full of fresh air, or light and unconcerned. An airy room, an airy wave of the hand, airy promises.
The two senses pull opposite ways: an airy room is praise and an airy promise is not, because in the second the lightness means empty. Airy-fairy means vague and impractical. Note air plus the -y ending that makes adjectives.
1adjectiveairyFull of fresh air and light.
“The new flat is bright and airy, with large windows facing the park.”
2adjectiveunconcernedLight and unconcerned.
“He dismissed all our worries with an airy wave of his hand.”
airy is a quality of lightness.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₂ews-
Middle English
aire
English
air
English, today
airy
From air + -y. air comes from Middle English aire. From Middle English aire, from Old French air, from Latin āēr, from Ancient Greek ἀήρ. Displaced native lyft. More at lift, loft.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA