Dictionary

gaby en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɡeɪbi/

Etymology

Uncertain.

Meanings

1. (UK, regional) A stupid, foolish person; a simpleton; a dunce.
   • "You pair of gabeys!" she exclaimed. "You'll see him before the night's out." 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 2”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
   • I daresay I made a gaby of myself to the world 1860 January–June, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, chapter 1, in Lovel the Widower, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1861, →OCLC:
   • "[Y]ou're a jobbernowl and a doodle, a maundering mooncalf and a blockheaded numps, a gaby and a loon; you're a Hatter!" I shrieked the last epithet. 1902, John Kendrick Bangs, chapter 10, in Olympian Nights:
   • His wrath, then, was proportionately violent when he was aware of two boys, who stopped close by him, and one of whom, a fat gaby of a fellow, pointed at him and called him "Young mammy-sick!" 1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days:

Forms

Synonyms

guffin · nincompoop · fool