bonnie

See also: Bonnie

English

Alternative forms

• bonny
• bonie (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English *boni (attested only rarely as bon, boun), probably from Old French bon, feminine bonne (“good”), from Latin bonus (“good”). See bounty, and compare bonus, boon.

Adjective

bonnie (comparative more bonnie, superlative most bonnie)

1. Merry; happy.

   Synonyms: frolicsome, cheerful, blithe, gay

   • c. 1598 or 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

     Be you blithe and bonny
     Converting all your sounds of woe
     Into Hey nonny, nonny.

2. (Geordie, Scotland) Beautiful; pretty; attractive.
3. (dialectal, Scotland, Northern England) Fine, good (often used ironically).

   My bonnie friend, come over here.

Translations

Gay; merry; frolicsome; cheerful; blithe

• Danish: frejdig
• Polish: wesoły (pl) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Swedish: ljuv (sv)

Beautiful; pretty; attractive

• Irish: dathúil, dóighiúil, slachtmhar
• Polish: piękny (pl) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: краси́вый (ru) (krasívyj), ми́лый (ru) (mílyj)

References

• “bonnie”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Bonine

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Scots

Alternative forms

• bonny

Adjective

bonnie (comparative mair bonnie, superlative maist bonnie)

1. handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful
   • (Can we date this quote?), Gay, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     Till bonny Susan sped across the plain.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • (Can we date this quote?), Robert Burns, Farewell to the Banks of Ayr:

     Far from the bonnie banks of Ayr.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

• Durham & Tyneside Dialect Group / Word Lists / SCOTLAND C18/2 - A SELECTION FROM BURNS' VOCABULARY