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
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Audio (US): (file)
- Rhymes: -ɪdi
Adjective
giddy (comparative giddier, superlative giddiest)
- Dizzy, feeling dizzy or unsteady and as if about to fall down.
- The man became giddy upon standing up so fast.
- Causing dizziness: causing dizziness or a feeling of unsteadiness.
- They climbed to a giddy height.
- 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.
- 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant Of Venice, Act III Scene 2
- (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.
- 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.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act V Scene 4
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
dizzy
|
causing dizziness
|
lightheartedly silly or joyfully elated
|
frivolous, impulsive, inconsistent, changeable
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See also
Verb
giddy (third-person singular simple present giddies, present participle giddying, simple past and past participle giddied)
- (obsolete, transitive) To make dizzy or unsteady.
- To reel; to whirl.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Chapman to this entry?)
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms suffixed with -y
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪdi
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with archaic senses
- English verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English transitive verbs
- Requests for quotations/Chapman