silly
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Phonetic variant of seely, related to soul. 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.
[edit] Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɪli
[edit] Adjective
silly (comparative sillier, superlative silliest)
- (obsolete) 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 [...].
- 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?
- 1633, John Donne, "Sapho to Philænis":
- foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom; frivolous, trifling.
- I made a very silly mistake.
- irresponsible, showing irresponsible behaviors.
- What a silly kid, he's always getting in trouble.
- playful, giggly.
- The newlyweds called each other silly little nicknames.
- 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, refined.
- John was prosperous and his helpless, silly father could be of no use to him.
[edit] Derived terms
- sillily (adverb)
- silly season
[edit] Antonyms
- ("playful"): pious
[edit] Synonyms
- ("playful"): charming
[edit] Translations
foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom
irresponsible, showing irresponsible behaviors
playful, giggly
cricket: of a fielding position, very close to the batsman; closer than short
pejorative: simple, not intelligent, refined
- 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
[edit] Noun
silly (plural sillies)
- (colloquial) A silly person; a fool.
- (colloquial) A mistake.