Where does “silly” come from?
Silly derives from Middle English seli, from Old English sǣliġ, from Proto-West Germanic sālīg, from Proto-Germanic sēliz, from a Proto-Indo-European root sel- or ser-.
silly (English): Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a...
Definitions
- Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a...
Ancestry of “silly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | seely | happy |
| 2 | Old English | sǣliġ | blessed, fortunate; happy, prosperous, blessed |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | sālīg | blissful, prosperous, happy |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |
Words derived from “silly”