Jump to content
Wiktionary The Free Dictionary

silly

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit ]
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

[edit ]

From Middle English seely , sēlī ,[1] from Old English sǣliġ , ġesǣliġ ("lucky, fortunate"), from Proto-West Germanic *sālīg , from *sāli ; equivalent to seel ("happiness, bliss") +‎ -y . Doublet of Seelie .

The semantic evolution is "lucky" to "innocent" to "naive" to "foolish". Compare the similar evolution of daft (originally meaning "accommodating"), and almost the reverse with nice (originally meaning "ignorant").

Pronunciation

[edit ]

Adjective

[edit ]

silly (comparative sillier , superlative silliest )

  1. Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.
    They were laughing at a silly joke.
    silly grin
    1. (of numbers, particularly prices) Absurdly large.
      • 1875 June 26, Saturday Review, 815/2:
        He cannot achieve celebrity by covering himself with diamonds... or by giving a silly price for a hack.
  2. (chiefly Scotland , obsolete ) Blessed, particularly:
    1. Good; pious.
      • a. 1450, Seven Sages, line 1361:
        The sylyman lay and herde, / And hys wyf answerd.
      • c. 1600, Robert Rollo[c]k, chapter I, in Lectvres Vpon The Epistle Of Pavl To The Colossians‎[1] , London: Felix Kyngston, page 27:
        The King of Spaine is counted very strong, and the Pope is counted very strong, because they haue a strong hand to persecute the silly ones of Iesus Christ.
    2. Holy.
  3. (now chiefly Scotland and Northern England , rare ) Pitiful, inspiring compassion, particularly:
    • 1556 in 1880, William Henry Turner, Selections from the Records of the City of Oxford... 1509–83, 246:
      The fire raging upon the silly Carcase.
    • 1808, John Jamieson, An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language:
      Silly... in the same sense as E. poor is often used, denoting a state which excites compassion.
    1. (now literary ) Innocent; suffering undeservedly, especially as an epithet of lambs and sheep.
    2. (now literary ) Helpless, defenseless.
      scared silly
      • 1539, Juan Luis Vives, translated by Richard Morison, Introduction to Wysedome:
        Wherfore Christe must soo moche the more instantelye be sought vpon, that he may vouchsafe to defende vs sylly wretches.
      • c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. [...] The First Part [...] , 2nd edition, part 1, London: [...] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, [...], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
        Ah Shepheard, pity my distressed plight, / (If as thou seem’st, thou art so meane a man) / And seeke not to inrich thy followers, / By lawlesse rapine from a silly maide, [...]
      • 1665, Hugo Grotius, translated by Thomas Manley, De Rebus Belgicis, section 938:
        There remained fresh Examples of their Barbarism against weak Sea-men, and silly Fisher-men.
    3. Insignificant, worthless, (chiefly Scotland ) especially with regard to land quality.
    4. Weak, frail; flimsy (use concerning people and animals is now obsolete).
      • 1567, John Maplet, A Greene Forest:
        Here we see that a smal sillie Bird knoweth how to match with so great a Beast.
      • 1587, Philippe de Mornay, translated by Philip Sidney et al., A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the Christian Religion, xxxii, 596:
        [Christ] leaueth neither Children nor kinsfolke behind him to vphold his sillie kingdome.
      • 1946, Scottish National Dictionary, published 1971, Vol. VIII, 234/3:
        That'll never grow. It's ower silly.
    5. Sickly; feeble; infirm.
      • 1636, Alexander Montgomerie, The Cherrie & the Slae, line 1512:
        To doe the thing we can / To please... / This silly sickly man.
      • 1818, Heart of Mid-Lothian, Walter Scott, section V:
        Is there ony thing you would particularly fancy, as your health seems but silly?
  4. (now rustic UK , rare ) Simple, plain, particularly:
    1. Rustic, homely.
      • 1570, John Foxe, Actes & Monumentes, Vol. II, 926/1:
        Dauid had no more but a sylie slynge, and a few stones.
    2. (obsolete ) Lowly, of humble station.
      • a. 1547, the Earl of Surrey translating Publius Virgilius Maro, Certain Bokes of Virgiles Aeneis, Book II:
        The silly herdman all astonnied standes.
      • 1568, Alexander Scott, Poems, section 27:
        So luvaris lair no leid suld lak,
        A lord to lufe a silly lass.
  5. Mentally simple, foolish, particularly:
    1. (obsolete ) Rustic, uneducated, unlearned.
      • 1687, Jean de Thévenot, translated by Archibald Lovell, The Travels of Monsieur de Thevenot into the Levant, i, 2:
        From Hell (of which the silly people of the Country think the top of this hill to be the mouth).
    2. Thoughtless, lacking judgment.
      silly mistake
      • 1576, Abraham Fleming translating Sulpicius, A Panoplie of Epistles, 24:
        Wee sillie soules, take the matter too too heauily.
      • 1841, Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge , iii, 252:
        ‘Heaven help this silly fellow,’ murmured the perplexed locksmith.
      • 1953, Ian Fleming, "Black Hare and Grey Hound", in Casino Royale , London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 105:
        For Vesper to fall for an old trick like that and get herself snatched and probably held to ransom like some bloody heroine in a strip cartoon. The silly bitch.
      • 1972, George Lucas et al., American Graffiti , section 8:
        Steve, don't be silly. I mean social intercourse.
      • 1990, House of Cards , season 1, episode 3:
        The truth is that everyone is sillier than you could possibly imagine they'd be.
    3. (Scotland ) mentally delayed or feeble.
    4. Stupefied, senseless; stunned or dazed.
      • 1829 January 17, Lancaster Gazette:
        You say you were knocked silly—was that so?
      • 1907, John Millington Synge, Playboy of the Western World , iii, 64:
        Drinking myself silly...
      • 1942, J. Chodorov et al., Junior Miss, ii, i, 113:
        Well, Judy, now that you've scared me silly, what's so important?
      • 1990, House of Cards , season 1, episode 2:
        I can kick this stuff any time I like. I tell you what. Get this week over, we'll go to a health farm for ten days. No drugs. No drink. And shag ourselves silly. How about that?
  6. (cricket , of a fielding position) Very close to the batsman, facing the bowler; closer than short.
    • 1862 July 4, Notts. Guardian:
      Carpenter now placed himself at silly-point for Grundy, who was playing very forward.

Usage notes

[edit ]
  • Silly is usually taken to imply a less serious degree of foolishness, mental impairment, or hilarity than its synonyms.
  • The sense meaning stupefied is usually restricted to times when silly is used as a verb complement, denoting that the action is done so severely or repetitively that it leaves one senseless.

Alternative forms

[edit ]

Synonyms

[edit ]

Antonyms

[edit ]
  • (antonym(s) of "playful"): pious

Derived terms

[edit ]

Translations

[edit ]
foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
irresponsible, showing irresponsible behaviors
playful, giggly
semiconscious
cricket: of a fielding position, very close to the batsman; closer than short
  • Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
pejorative: simple, not intelligent, unrefined
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Adverb

[edit ]

silly (comparative sillier , superlative silliest )

  1. (now regional or colloquial ) Sillily: in a silly manner.
    • 1731, Colley Cibber, Careless Husband, 7th edition, i, i, 21:
      If you did but see how silly a Man fumbles for an Excuse, when he's a little asham'd of being in Love.

Noun

[edit ]

silly (plural sillies )

  1. (colloquial ) A silly person.
    • 1807 May, Scots Magazine, 366/1:
      While they, poor sillies, bid good night,
      O' love an' bogles eerie.
    • 1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids , Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 217:
      "Oh, Bill. I can't - Oh, my dear, I've been hoping so much.... Oh, Bill..." said Josella. I had forgotten all about Susan until a voice came from above. "You are getting wet, you silly. Why don't you kiss her indoors?" it asked.
  2. (endearing , gently derogatory ) A term of address.
    • 1918 September, St. Nicholas, 972/2:
      ‘Come on, silly,’ said Nannie.
  3. (colloquial ) A mistake.

Translations

[edit ]
silly person

References

[edit ]
  1. ^ Middle English Dictionary, "sēlī (adj.)".
  • Oxford English Dictionary, ""silly, adj., n., and adv.", 2013.

Anagrams

[edit ]

AltStyle によって変換されたページ (->オリジナル) /