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Dictionary / silly

silly

/ˈsɪl.i/ syllables: sil·ly
  • adjective
  • adverb
  • noun
  • from Old English

Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.

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1 All current definitions

Every sense of “silly” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.

adjective

  1. Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.

    They were laughing at a silly joke.

  2. Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.Absurdly large.

    He cannot achieve celebrity by covering himself with diamonds... or by giving a silly price for a hack.1875 June 26, Saturday Review, 815/2

  3. Northern EnglandScotlandrarePitiful, inspiring compassion, particularly

    The fire raging upon the silly Carcase.1556 in 1880, William Henry Turner, Selections from the Records of the City of Oxford... 1509–83, 246

  4. Pitiful, inspiring compassionNorthern EnglandScotlandliteraryrareInnocent; suffering undeservedly, especially as an epithet of lambs and sheep.

    There is no best in þe word, I wene... / That suffuris halfe so myche tene / As doth þe sylly wat.a. 1475, in 1925, Rossell Hope Robbins, Secular Lyrics of the 14th & 15th Centuries, 109

  5. Pitiful, inspiring compassionNorthern EnglandScotlandliteraryrareHelpless, defenseless.

    scared silly

  6. Pitiful, inspiring compassionNorthern EnglandScotlandrareInsignificant, worthless, (chiefly Scotland) especially with regard to land quality.

    Ane sillie scheill vnder ane erdfast stanea. 1500, Aesop, translated by Robert Henryson, Two Mice:

  7. Pitiful, inspiring compassionNorthern EnglandScotlandrareWeak, frail; flimsy (use concerning people and animals is now obsolete).

    Here we see that a smal sillie Bird knoweth how to match with so great a Beast.1567, John Maplet, A Greene Forest:

  8. Pitiful, inspiring compassionNorthern EnglandScotlandrareSickly; feeble; infirm.

    To doe the thing we can / To please... / This silly sickly man.1636, Alexander Montgomerie, The Cherrie & the Slae, line 1512:

  9. Simple, plainrareRustic, homely.

    Dauid had no more but a sylie slynge, and a few stones.1570, John Foxe, Actes & Monumentes, Vol. II, 926/1:

  10. Mentally simple, foolishThoughtless, lacking judgment.

    silly mistake

  11. Mentally simple, foolishScotlandmentally delayed or feeble.

    Fow ȝellow ȝellow wes hir heid bot scho of lufe wes sillie.1568, Christis Kirk on Grene:

  12. Mentally simple, foolishStupefied, senseless; stunned or dazed.

    You say you were knocked silly—was that so?1829 January 17, Lancaster Gazette

  13. Very close to the batsman, facing the bowler; closer than short.

    Carpenter now placed himself at silly-point for Grundy, who was playing very forward.1862 July 4, Notts. Guardian

Older & obsolete senses (4)
  1. ScotlandobsoleteGood; pious.
  2. ScotlandobsoleteHoly.
  3. obsoleterareLowly, of humble station.
  4. obsoleteRustic, uneducated, unlearned.
Wiktionary: “silly” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

adverb

  1. colloquialregionalSillily: in a silly manner.

    If you did but see how silly a Man fumbles for an Excuse, when he's a little asham'd of being in Love.1731, Colley Cibber, Careless Husband, 7th edition, i, i, 21:

Wiktionary: “silly” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

noun

  1. colloquialA silly person.

    While they, poor sillies, bid good night, O' love an' bogles eerie.1807 May, Scots Magazine, 366/1

  2. endearingA term of address.

    ‘Come on, silly,’ said Nannie.1918 September, St. Nicholas, 972/2

  3. colloquialA mistake.
Wiktionary: “silly” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
Cross-check: WordNet senses (5)
  1. nouna word used for misbehaving children
  2. adjectiveludicrous, foolish — also: cockamamie, cockamamy, goofy, sappy, wacky
  3. adjectivelacking seriousness; given to frivolity — also: airheaded, dizzy, empty-headed, featherbrained, giddy
  4. adjectiveinspiring scornful pity; - Dashiell Hammett — also: pathetic, ridiculous
  5. adjectivedazed from or as if from repeated blows — also: punch-drunk, slaphappy
Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License

Synonyms: charming, Also see Thesaurus:foolish

Antonyms: pious

Wiktionary: “silly” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

2 History of the word

The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.

The word’s journey, newest to oldest:

  1. English (today)silly
  2. Middle Englishseely
  3. Old Englishsǣliġ
  4. Proto-West Germanic*sālīg
  5. Proto-West Germanic*sāli

From Middle English seely, sēlī, from Old English sǣliġ, ġesǣliġ (“lucky, fortunate”), from Proto-West Germanic *sālīg, from *sāli; equivalent to seel (“happiness, bliss”) + -y. Doublet of Seelie.

The semantic evolution is “lucky” to “innocent” to “naive” to “foolish”. Compare the similar evolution of daft (originally meaning “accommodating”), and almost the reverse with nice (originally meaning “ignorant”).

Wiktionary: “silly” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Derivatives — words built from “silly”

nonsillysillificationsillilysillinesssillycidalsillycidesillyficsillyheadsillyhoodsilly-howsillyishsillyismsillykinsillykinssillylyunsilly

Phrases & compounds

play silly beggarsplay silly buggerssilly beansilly billysilly goosesilly mesilly mid offsilly mid onsilly moneysilly o'clocksilly pillsilly pointsilly puttysilly sausagesilly seasonsilly slicingsilly strawsilly stringsilly window syndromestrike me silly
Wiktionary: “silly” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Want to go deeper? See also “silly” on Etymonline ↗

3 Original language

Where “silly” came from before it was English.

Native English word, from
Old English
Old English sǣliġ
Deepest root (reconstructed)
Proto-West Germanic
Proto-West Germanic *sāli
Wiktionary: “silly” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

4 Original meaning

What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.

Wiktionary’s etymology does not give a separate meaning for the earliest form of “silly”, so we don’t state one. The historical dictionary entry below shows how the word was understood in 1913.

Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913

A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.

silly a. [OE. seely, sely, AS. s, ges, happy, good, fr. s, s, good, happy, s good fortune, happines; akin to OS. s, a, good, happy, D. zalig blessed, G. selig, OHG. s, Icel. s, Sw. s, Dan. salig, Goth. s good, kind, and perh. also to L. sollus whole, entire, Gr. sarva. Cf. Seel, n.]

  1. Happy; fortunate; blessed.
  2. Harmless; innocent; inoffensive.
  3. Weak; helpless; frail.
  4. Rustic; plain; simple; humble.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), public domain, via GCIDE

5 Use it with confidence

Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.

adjectiveMeaning: Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.

They were laughing at a silly joke.

silly grin

adjectiveMeaning: Absurdly large.

He cannot achieve celebrity by covering himself with diamonds... or by giving a silly price for a hack.1875 June 26, Saturday Review, 815/2

adjectiveMeaning: Pitiful, inspiring compassion, particularly

The fire raging upon the silly Carcase.1556 in 1880, William Henry Turner, Selections from the Records of the City of Oxford... 1509–83, 246

Silly... in the same sense as E. poor is often used, denoting a state which excites compassion.1808, John Jamieson, An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language:

adjectiveMeaning: Innocent; suffering undeservedly, especially as an epithet of lambs and sheep.

There is no best in þe word, I wene... / That suffuris halfe so myche tene / As doth þe sylly wat.a. 1475, in 1925, Rossell Hope Robbins, Secular Lyrics of the 14th & 15th Centuries, 109

In the silly lambis skin He crap als far as he micht win.a. 1513, William Dunbar, Poems, section 247:

adjectiveMeaning: Helpless, defenseless.

scared silly

Wherfore Christe must soo moche the more instantelye be sought vpon, that he may vouchsafe to defende vs sylly wretches.1539, Juan Luis Vives, translated by Richard Morison, Introduction to Wysedome:

adjectiveMeaning: Insignificant, worthless, (chiefly Scotland) especially with regard to land quality.

Ane sillie scheill vnder ane erdfast stanea. 1500, Aesop, translated by Robert Henryson, Two Mice:

[…]A pettigree / Of threescore and two yeares a sillie time, / To make prescription for a kingdomes worth.c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, p

nounMeaning: a word used for misbehaving children

don't be a silly

adjectiveMeaning: ludicrous, foolish

a silly idea

adjectiveMeaning: lacking seriousness; given to frivolity

silly giggles

adjectiveMeaning: inspiring scornful pity; - Dashiell Hammett

how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years

Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License
Wiktionary: “silly” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Three steps to owning it

  1. Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
  2. Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
  3. Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?

6 The mastery game

Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.

Step 1 of 9

Say it, then spell it

silly

/ˈsɪl.i/ · sil·ly

Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.

Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________

silly

/ˈsɪl.i/ · sil·ly · adjective, adverb, noun

Step 1 — Say it and write it

Say “silly” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.

Step 2 — Know every meaning

Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.

1. (adjective) Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.
2. (adjective) Absurdly large.
3. (adjective) Pitiful, inspiring compassion, particularly
4. (adjective) Innocent; suffering undeservedly, especially as an epithet of lambs and sheep.
5. (adjective) Helpless, defenseless.

Step 3 — Which meaning is it?

“They were laughing at a silly joke.”

A. Weak, frail; flimsy (use concerning people and animals is now obsolete).
B. Absurdly large.
C. Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.

Circle the meaning used.

“He cannot achieve celebrity by covering himself with diamonds... or by giving a silly price for a hack.”

A. Absurdly large.
B. Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.
C. Innocent; suffering undeservedly, especially as an epithet of lambs and sheep.

Circle the meaning used.

“The fire raging upon the silly Carcase.”

A. Pitiful, inspiring compassion, particularly
B. Helpless, defenseless.
C. Insignificant, worthless, (chiefly Scotland) especially with regard to land quality.

Circle the meaning used.

Step 4 — History and origin

Which language did “silly” come into English from?   A. Medieval Latin  B. Ancient Greek  C. New Latin  D. Old English

Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):

Write three words built from “silly” and what each means:

Step 5 — Original meaning

Read the etymology on the page. What does it tell you about the word’s earlier meaning?

How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?

Step 6 — Use it yourself

Write a sentence using “silly” to mean: Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.
Write a sentence using “silly” to mean: Absurdly large.
Write a sentence using “silly” to mean: Pitiful, inspiring compassion, particularly

☐ I can explain its meanings   ☐ I know its history   ☐ I know its original language   ☐ I know its original meaning   ☐ I can use it confidently

Answer key — silly

Which meaning, sentence 1: C. Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance.

Which meaning, sentence 2: A. Absurdly large.

Which meaning, sentence 3: A. Pitiful, inspiring compassion, particularly

Origin: D. Old English (Old English sǣliġ)

Journey: English silly ← Middle English seely ← Old English sǣliġ ← Proto-West Germanic *sālīg ← Proto-West Germanic *sāli

Some derivatives: nonsilly, sillification, sillily, silliness, sillycidal, sillycide, sillyfic, sillyhead

Etymology: From Middle English seely, sēlī, from Old English sǣliġ, ġesǣliġ (“lucky, fortunate”), from Proto-West Germanic *sālīg, from *sāli; equivalent to seel (“happiness, bliss”) + -y. Doublet of Seelie.

Sources: Wiktionary “silly” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/silly#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/silly