Nearby Words

sillies

[sil-ee] Origin

sil·ly

[sil-ee] adjective, -li·er, -li·est, noun, plural -lies.
adjective
1.
weak-minded or lacking good sense; stupid or foolish: a silly writer.
2.
absurd; ridiculous; irrational: a silly idea.
3.
stunned; dazed: He knocked me silly.
4.
Cricket. (of a fielder or the fielder's playing position) extremely close to the batsman's wicket: silly mid off.
5.
Archaic. rustic; plain; homely.
EXPAND
6.
Archaic. weak; helpless.
7.
Obsolete. lowly in rank or state; humble.
COLLAPSE
noun
8.
Informal. a silly or foolish person: Don't be such a silly.

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Sillies is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.

Origin:
1375–1425; earlier sylie, sillie foolish, feeble-minded, simple, pitiful; late Middle English syly, variant of sely seely

sil·li·ly, adverb
sil·li·ness, noun
un·sil·ly, adjective


1. witless, senseless, dull-witted, dim-witted. See foolish. 2. inane, asinine, nonsensical, preposterous.


1. sensible.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Main Entry:  sillies
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  giggles or silliness
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2012 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

silly
O.E. gesælig "happy" (related to sæl "happiness"), from W.Gmc. *sæligas (cf. O.N. sæll "happy," Goth. sels "good, kindhearted," O.S. salig, M.Du. salich, O.H.G. salig, Ger. selig "blessed, happy, blissful"), from PIE base *sel- "happy" (cf. Gk. hilaros "gay, cheerful," L. solari
EXPAND
"to comfort," salvus "whole, safe"). The word's considerable sense development moved from "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent" (1200), to "harmless," to "pitiable" (c.1280), to "weak" (c.1300), to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish" (1576). Further tendency toward "stunned, dazed as by a blow" (1886) in knocked silly, etc. Silly season in journalism slang is from 1861 (August and September, when newspapers compensate for a lack of hard news by filling up with trivial stories). Silly Putty trademark claims use from July 1949.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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