'dandy' originates from English, possibly from the Scots word 'dandie', where the root 'dand-' suggested being showy or smartly dressed.

'dandy' changed from the Scots word 'dandie' and may have been influenced by jocular uses of the personal name 'Andrew'; it entered 18th-century English as 'dandy' and took on the modern senses.

Initially it referred to a showy or smartly dressed person (often a man); over time it retained that sense while also giving rise to figurative uses (e.g. 'fine and dandy' meaning 'excellent').