giddy

English

Etymology

From Middle English guidie, guydie, gydi (“possessed by a demon; crazy, insane; foolish; dizzy”), from Old English gidiġ, gydiġ (“possessed by a spirit or demon, mad, insane”), from Proto-West Germanic *gudīg (“ghostly, spirited”, literally “possessed by a god or spirit”), equivalent to god +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ɡɪdi/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪdi

Adjective

giddy (comparative giddier, superlative giddiest)

1. Dizzy, feeling dizzy or unsteady and as if about to fall down.

   The man became giddy upon standing up so fast.

   • 1865, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 6:

     "Did you say pig, or fig?" said the Cat.
     "I said pig," replied Alice; "and I wish you wouldn't keep appearing and vanishing so suddenly: you make one quite giddy."

2. Causing dizziness: causing dizziness or a feeling of unsteadiness.

   They climbed to a giddy height.

3. Lightheartedly silly, or joyfully elated.
   • 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant Of Venice, Act III Scene 2

     Hearing applause and universal shout,

     Giddy in spirit, still gazing, in a doubt

     Whether those peals of praise be his or no;

   • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, in The Affair at the Novelty Theatre‎^[1]:

     Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.

   The boy was giddy when he opened his birthday presents.

4. (archaic) Frivolous, impulsive, inconsistent, changeable.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act V Scene 4

     In brief, since I do purpose to marry, I will think nothing to any purpose that the world can say against it; and therefore never flout at me for what I have said against it, for man is a giddy thing, and this is my conclusion.

   • 1682, [Nahum Tate; John Dryden], The Second Part of Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 876856636, page 5:

     Such practices as Theſe, too groſs to lye / Long unobſerv'd by each diſcerning Eye, / The more judicious Iſraelites Unſpell'd, / Though ſtill the Charm the giddy Rabble held, [...]

   • 1784, William Cowper, Tirocinium; or, A Review of Schools

     Young heads are giddy and young hearts are warm,

     And make mistakes for manhood to reform.

Synonyms

• dizzy

Derived terms

• giddily
• giddiness
• giddisome
• my giddy aunt

Translations

dizzy

• Bulgarian: замаян (bg) (zamajan), зашеметен (bg) (zašemeten)
• Burmese: မူး (my) (mu:)
• Catalan: marejat (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 頭暈 (zh), 头晕 (zh) (tóuyūn)

• Dutch: duizelig (nl)
• Finnish: alkaa huimata (to become giddy)
• French: étourdi (fr)
• Georgian: თავბრუდახვეული (tavbrudaxveuli), თავბრუდამხვევი (tavbrudamxvevi)
• German: schwindelig (de), schwindlig
• Haitian Creole: toudi, tèt vire
• Irish: meadhránach, míobhánach, barréadrom

• Maori: aniroro, rori, rorohī, rorohuri, rangiroro, ānewanewa, pōātinitini, pōānini, kehu
• Norman: êtourdi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: svimmel (no), ør

• Plautdietsch: dieslich
• Portuguese: tonto (pt)
• Romanian: amețit (ro)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: zawity, zwity

• Spanish: mareado (es), vertiginoso
• Swedish: yr (sv), vimmelkantig (sv)
• Welsh: chwil (cy), pensyfrdan, penysgafn (cy), penfeddw

causing dizziness

• Bulgarian: главозамайващ (glavozamajvašt)
• Catalan: marejador
• Dutch: duizelingwekkend (nl)
• Finnish: huimaava (fi)
• French: étourdissant (fr)
• Georgian: თავბრუდამხვევი (tavbrudamxvevi)

• German: schwindelerregend
• Hungarian: szédületes
• Romanian: amețitor (ro)
• Russian: головокружи́тельный (ru) (golovokružítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: mareador, vertiginoso

lightheartedly silly or joyfully elated

• Bulgarian: лекомислен (bg) (lekomislen)
• Dutch: onbezonnen (nl)
• Finnish: iloinen (fi)
• Georgian: არასერიოზული (araseriozuli), სულელური (suleluri)

• German: vergnügt (de), ausgelassen (de), aufgedreht (de), lebhaft (de), munter (de), freudig erregt
• Irish: aerach, aertha, alluaiceach
• Spanish: frívolo (es)

frivolous, impulsive, inconsistent, changeable

• Bulgarian: лекомислен (bg) (lekomislen), вятърничав (bg) (vjatǎrničav)
• Dutch: lichtzinnig (nl)
• Finnish: ailahtelevainen (fi)

• French: étourdi (fr) m
• Georgian: დაუფიქრებელი (daupikrebeli), ფუქსავატი (puksavaṭi)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lettsindig

• Spanish: frívolo (es), veleidoso

See also

• vertiginous

Verb

giddy (third-person singular simple present giddies, present participle giddying, simple past and past participle giddied)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To make dizzy or unsteady.
2. To reel; to whirl.
   • 1614–1615, Homer, “The Ninth Book of Homer’s Odysseys”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, OCLC 1002865976; republished in The Odysseys of Homer, […], volume I, London: John Russell Smith, […], 1857, OCLC 987451380:

     Our whole endeavours, and our course constrain
     To giddy round, and with our bow'd sails greet
     Dreadful Maleia […]