Dictionary

sillily en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈsɪlɪli/

Etymology

Etymology tree English silly Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English sillily From silly + -ly.

Meanings

1. (dated, hypercorrect) In a silly manner; foolishly.
   • It was a fish-trap—just a ring of reeds set up in the water with only one little opening in it, and in this opening, just below the water, were stuck reeds slanting the way of the river's flow, so that the fish, when they had swum sillily in, sillily couldn't get out again. 1906, E. Nesbit, The Story of the Amulet:
   • Even 'Che Isa [...] had behaved sillily, making up to married men. 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 253:
   • The man walked down the street so sillily that many a bystander stopped and stared slack-jawed.

Forms

Synonyms

silly