woolly en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈwʊli/
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From Middle English wolly, equivalent to wool + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian wullich (“woolly”), Dutch wollig (“woolly”), German wollig (“woolly”), Swedish ullig (“woolly”).
Meanings
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Made of wool.
Put on a woolly jumper and turn down the thermostat.
Sporting a woolly cardigan with four buttons on top of an Oxford smock without a collar, our man has a faintly folksy look about him, calling to mind a zingaro or a gypsy, a carny or a Mongol, but also (switching to a wholly distinct mythology and iconography) a hippy strumming his guitar in a barroom in Haight-Ashbury or at Big Sur or in Katmandu.
1995 [1969], Gilbert Adair, transl., A Void, translation of La Disparition by Georges Perec:
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Having a thick, soft texture, as if made of wool.
woolly hair
My skin is black / My arms are long / My hair is woolly / My back is strong
1966, Nina Simone, “Four Women”, in Wild Is the Wind:There was nothing left in the fruit bowl but a brown banana and a couple of woolly pears.
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(figuratively) Unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy.
To call David Lean's Dr Zhivago a translation of Pasternak's novel is not only to disregard the specificity of film art, but to make such woolly use of the word ‘translation’ as to fit it to refer to any kind of transformation. Knitting included.
2011, David Bellos, chapter 29, in Is that a Fish in Your Ear?:That's the sort of woolly thinking that causes wars to start.
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(obsolete) Clothed in wool.
woolly breeders
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
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(archaic, slang) Cross; irritable.
[…] and don't get woolly because some of your little "deals" don't come off. You'd soon consider yourself the superior of God Almighty Himself if He didn't set you in your place once in a while.
1911, Shoe and Leather Journal, volume 25, page 27:
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(US, informal) Uncivilized and unruly.
wild and woolly
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wooly | alternative | lexicographic | |
| woolliest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| woollier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
woolly hippopotamus · woolly bluecurls · woolly-pated · woolly nightshade · woollyish · woolly mouse opossum · woolly-headed · woolly marbles · wild and woolly · woolly poison · woolly bear caterpillar · woolly pate · woolly monkey · woolly-pate · woolly-minded · woolly-haired · woolly woofter · woolly mouse · woolly worm · woolly rhino · woollyback · woolly bear · woolly opossum · woolly adelgid · woolly-head · woolly hat · woolly aphid · woolly lemur · woolly fringe moss · woolly mammoth · woolly rhinoceros
Translations (45)
el μάλλινος (made of wool) · ru шерстяно́й (made of wool) · it lanoso (made of wool) · de schwammig (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · hu gyapjú (made of wool) · mk не́јасен (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · hrx wollich (made of wool) · de unscharf (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · tr yünlü (made of wool) · fi epämääräinen (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · pl wełniany (made of wool) · de zottig (having a thick, soft texture, as if made of wool) · de blumig (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · de wollartig (having a thick, soft texture, as if made of wool) · cy gwlanog (made of wool) · ca llanós (made of wool) · de verklärt (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · bg неясен (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · fr laineux (made of wool) · mk во́лнен (made of wool) · ga olla (made of wool) · fur lanôs (made of wool) · mk вла́кнест (having a thick, soft texture, as if made of wool) · mk ру́нтав (having a thick, soft texture, as if made of wool) · de vage (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · ro lânos (made of wool) · fi villainen (made of wool) · bg вълнен (made of wool) · la lānōsus (made of wool) · ga olanda (made of wool) · de Woll- (made of wool) · de unkonkret (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · nl wollig (made of wool) · es lanoso (made of wool) · de wollen (made of wool) · de lose (having a thick, soft texture, as if made of wool) · de verschwommen (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · de wollig (having a thick, soft texture, as if made of wool) · sv ullig (having a thick, soft texture, as if made of wool) · de schwammig (having a thick, soft texture, as if made of wool) · de wolkig (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · pt lanoso (made of wool) · fi villainen (having a thick, soft texture, as if made of wool) · bg объркан (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy) · fi epäselvä (unclear, fuzzy, hazy, cloudy)