Wordwyrt

silly

/ˈsɪli/SIH-lee
/ˈsɪli/SIH-lee

Meaningtimely, blessed

Common meaning: foolish

Journey through time

  1. Old Englishsǣlig‘happy, fortunate’source
  2. Middle Englishmeaning shiftshappy, fortunate → blessed, innocentsely‘blessed, innocent’source
  3. Englishmeaning shiftsblessed, innocent → foolishsilly‘foolish’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English sǣlig ‘happy, fortunate’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry SILLY, p. 553 · dictionary scan

Roots

  • sǣlig Old English “happy, fortunate”

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