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-Germanic *gudīgaz (“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.

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

   They climbed to a giddy height.

3. Lightheartedly silly, or joyfully elated.
   • 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 5 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.

   • 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
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 頭暈 (zh), 头晕 (zh) (tóuyūn)

• Dutch: duizelig (nl)
• French: étourdi (fr) m
• 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
• Portuguese: tonto (pt)
• Romanian: amețit (ro)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: zawity, zwity

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

causing dizziness

• Bulgarian: главозамайващ (glavozamajvašt)
• Catalan: marejador
• Dutch: duizelingwekkend (nl)
• French: étourdissant (fr) m
• German: schwindelerregend

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

lightheartedly silly or joyfully elated

• Dutch: onbezonnen (nl)
• Irish: aerach, aertha, alluaiceach

• Spanish: frívolo (es) m

frivolous, impulsive, inconsistent, changeable

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

• French: étourdi (fr) m
• Spanish: frívolo (es) m, veleidoso m

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.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Chapman to this entry?)