silly
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Phonetic variant of seely. From Old English *sǣliġ, "blessed", (attested only in form ġesǣliġ), from Proto-Germanic *sēlīgaz. Cognate with West Frisian sillich, Dutch zalig, German selig. More at sely.
Pronunciation [edit]
Adjective [edit]
silly (comparative sillier, superlative silliest)
- (archaic) Pitiable; deserving of compassion; helpless.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.vi:
- A silly man, in simple weedes forworne, / And soild with dust of the long dried way; / His sandales were with toilesome trauell torne, / And face all tand with scorching sunny ray […]
- Sepenser
- After long storms […] with which my silly bark was tossed sore.
- Coleridge
- The silly buckets on the deck.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.vi:
- (obsolete) Simple, unsophisticated, ordinary; rustic, ignorant.
- 1633, John Donne, "Sapho to Philænis":
- For, if we justly call each silly man / A little island, What shall we call thee than?
- Shakespeare
- A fourth man, in a silly habit.
- Milton
- All that did their silly thoughts so busy keep.
- 1633, John Donne, "Sapho to Philænis":
- foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom; frivolous, trifling.
- I made a very silly mistake.
- The newlyweds called each other silly little nicknames.
- irresponsible, showing irresponsible behaviors.
- What a silly kid, he's always getting in trouble.
- semiconscious, witless.
- The impact of the ball knocked him silly.
- (cricket) of a fielding position, very close to the batsman; closer than short
- (pejorative) simple, not intelligent, unrefined.
- John was prosperous and his helpless, silly father could be of no use to him.
- (obsolete) Happy; fortunate; blessed.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)
- (obsolete) Harmless; innocent; inoffensive.
- Spenser
- The silly virgin strove him to withstand.
- Robynson (More's Utopia)
- A silly, innocent hare murdered of a dog.
- Spenser
Derived terms [edit]
- sillily (adverb)
- silly season
Antonyms [edit]
- ("playful"): pious
Synonyms [edit]
- ("playful"): charming
Translations [edit]
foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
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irresponsible, showing irresponsible behaviors
playful, giggly
semiconscious
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cricket: of a fielding position, very close to the batsman; closer than short
pejorative: simple, not intelligent, unrefined
- 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
Noun [edit]
silly (plural sillies)
- (colloquial) A silly person; a fool.
- (colloquial) A mistake.