guy

See also Guy

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: gī, IPA: /ɡaɪ/, SAMPA: /gaI/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ

Etymology 1

Probably of Low German origin; compare Dutch gei (“brail”), German Geitau (“clew-line”).

Noun

guy (plural guys)

1. A support cable used to guide, steady or secure something.

Derived terms

• guy rope

Translations

support cable

Finnish: harus (fi)

Verb

guy (third-person singular simple present guys, present participle guying, simple past and past participle guyed)

1. To equip with a support cable.

Translations

to equip with a support cable

Finnish: harustaa (fi)

Etymology 2

Named from Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), an English Catholic hanged for his role in the Gunpowder Plot.

Noun

guy (plural guys)

1. (UK) An effigy of a man burned on a bonfire on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot (5th November).
2. (colloquial) A male

   A new guy started at the office today.

   Jane considers that guy to be very good looking.

3. (colloquial, in the plural) people

   I wonder what those guys are doing with that cat?

4. (colloquial, of animals and sometimes objects) thing, creature

   The dog's left foreleg was broken, poor little guy.

5. (colloquial, technology) thing, unit

   This guy, here, controls the current, and this guy, here, measures the voltage.

6. (informal, term of address) Buster, Mack, fella

   Hey, guy, give a man a break, would ya?

Usage notes

• In plural, guys is not completely gender-neutral but it may refer to people of either sex in some circumstances and forms; "Hey guys" can generally refer to either gender, as a greeting in its plural form. This usage is not always seen as accurate or correct. Referring to a group of people as "guys" usually means a group of men or a mixed group, since describing a group of women as guys, as in the Pussycat Dolls are a bunch of guys, suggests they are male in that usage and is generally viewed as incorrect or inaccurate. In contrast, the band Green Day could accurately be described as a bunch of guys in slang. The usage of the plural guys in the phrase some guys chased them away would generally be assumed to mean men rather than women.
• When used of animals, guy usually refers to either a male or one whose gender is not known, rarely if ever is it used to an animal that is known to be female.
• In US and Canadian English you guys attempts to revive the distinction between a singular and plural you to avoid confusion between the two uses.

Synonyms

• (US) (man): dude, fella, homey
• (British) (man): bloke, geezer, cove, fellow, chap
• See also Wikisaurus:man

Antonyms

• (man): gal
• (man): girl

Derived terms

• bad guy
• good guy
• nice guy
• you guys

Translations

man

Arabic: رجل (ar) m. Bengali: ছেলে (bn) (chele) Chinese: Mandarin: trad. 朋友, simpl. 朋友 (pinyin: péng you) (literally "friend" and can also be a casual form of address, like the English "buddy" or "dude"), trad. 小伙子, simpl. 小伙子 (pinyin: xiǎo huǒ zi) (a man younger than the speaker, generally an adolescent or a young adult), trad. 傢伙, simpl. 家伙 (pinyin: jiā huǒ) Dutch: kerel (nl) m., vent (nl) m., gozer (nl) m., gast (nl) m. Finnish: kundi (fi) French: mec (fr) m., gars (fr) m., bougre (fr) m. German: Typ (de) m., Kerl (de) m. Italian: tipo (it) m. Japanese: やつ (ja) (yatsu), ヤツ (ja) (yatsu), 奴 (ja) (yatsu) ref. こいつ, そいつ (ja), あいつ (ja)

Korean: 녀석 (ko) (nyeo.suk), 놈 (ko) (nom) Kurdish: کابرا Macedonian: дечко (mk) (déčko) m., тип (mk) (tip) m. and n. Polish: facet (pl) m. Romanian: tip (ro) m. Russian: парень (ru) (páren') m. Scots: chiel Scottish Gaelic: gille (gd) Spanish: tipo m., buey (México - often written and pronounced 'wey'), gallo (Chile), mae m. and f. (Costa Rica), man m. (Colombia, Ecuador, Panama), tercio m. (Venezuela - recessive usage), tío m. (Spain), vato (México) ; (vulgar usage) carajo (Colombia, Costa Rica, Venezuela), coño (es) m. (Venezuela), jodido m. (El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua), cuate (es) m. (Mexico)

in plural: people

Dutch: gasten (nl) m., jongens (nl) m. French: gars m. (plural gars) German: Typen (de) pl., Kerle (de) pl., Leute (de) pl.

Japanese: やつら (ja) (yatsura), 奴ら (ja) (yatsura) Mandarin: Chinese: simpl. 人, simpl. 人们

Verb

guy (third-person singular simple present guys, present participle guying, simple past and past participle guyed)

1. (intransitive) To exhibit an effigy of Guy Fawkes around the 5th November.
2. (transitive) To make fun of, to ridicule with wit or innuendo.
   • 2003, Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason, Penguin 2004, p. 278:

     Swift and other satirists mercilessly guyed the unlettered self-importance of the peddlars of such soul-food, exposing their humility and self-laceration as an egregious and obnoxious form of self-advertisement (s'excuser, c'est s'accuser).

   • 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador 2007, p. 187:

     Terry Kilmartin [...], applauded for every ‘um’ and ‘ah’, knew that he was being guyed and had the charm to make it funny.