Etymology Map
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Silly

3 stages from Old English to English.

Today it means lacking good sense; foolish

Where does the word "silly" come from? It comes from Old English gesǣlig, passing through Middle English before entering English (1570s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
gesǣlig
Old English · medieval
"blessed, happy"
'happy, blessed, fortunate', from sǣl 'happiness'; German selig still means 'blessed'
2
Stage 2 of 3
seely
Middle English · 1300s
"innocent; pitiable"
slid from 'blessed' to 'innocent, harmless', then 'pitiable, helpless', as in the 'seely' sheep of medieval verse
3
Stage 3 of 3
silly
English · 1570s
"foolish"
sank to 'foolish'; journalists' 'silly season' for the trivial summer news of August and September dates from an 1861 article in The Saturday Review
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Silly’s story begins in Old English: gesǣlig meant “blessed, happy.” 'happy, blessed, fortunate', from sǣl 'happiness'; German selig still means 'blessed'. By 1300s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as seely. Slid from 'blessed' to 'innocent, harmless', then 'pitiable, helpless', as in the 'seely' sheep of medieval verse. It reached English by 1570s as silly. Sank to 'foolish'; journalists' 'silly season' for the trivial summer news of August and September dates from an 1861 article in The Saturday Review. Today, silly means lacking good sense; foolish.