easy
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English eesy, esy, partly from Middle English ese (“ease”) + -y, equivalent to ease + -y, and partly from Old French aisie (“eased, at ease, at leisure”), past participle of aisier (“to put at ease”), from aise (“empty space, elbow room, opportunity”), of uncertain origin. See ease. Merged with Middle English ethe, eathe (“not difficult, easy”), from Old English ēaþe, īeþe (“easy, smooth, not difficult”), from Proto-Germanic *auþaz, *auþijaz (“easy, pleasing”), from *auþiz (“vacant, empty”), from Proto-Indo-European *aut- (“empty, lonely”). Compare also Old Saxon ōþi (“easy, vacant, empty”), Old High German ōdi (“easy, effortless, vacant, empty”), Old Norse auðr (“easy, vacant, empty”). More at ease, eath.
Adjective [edit]
easy (comparative easier, superlative easiest)
- (now rare except in certain expressions) Comfortable; at ease.
- In the middle of the room was a fluffy easy chair.
- Now that I know it's taken care of, I can rest easy at night.
- Requiring little skill or effort, soft.
- The teacher gave an easy test to her students.
- (informal, pejorative, of a person) Consenting readily to sex.
- She has a reputation for being easy; they say she's slept with half the senior class.
Synonyms [edit]
- (comfortable): relaxed, relaxing
- (not difficult): light, eath
- (consenting readily to sex): fast
- (requiring little skill or effort): soft, trivial
- See also Wikisaurus:easy
Antonyms [edit]
- (comfortable, at ease): uneasy, anxious
- (requiring little skill or effort): difficult, hard, uneasy, uneath, challenging
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
comfortable — see comfortable
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
requiring little skill or effort
|
|
consenting readily to sex
Adverb [edit]
easy (comparative easier, superlative easiest)
- In a relaxed or casual manner
- After his illness, John decided to take it easy.
- In a manner without strictness or harshness.
- Jane went easier on him after he broke his arm.
- Used an intensifier for large magnitudes.
- This project will cost 15 million dollars, easy.
Anagrams [edit]
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English words suffixed with -y
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English adjectives
- English terms with rare senses
- English informal terms
- English pejoratives
- English adverbs
