silly
noun/ˈsɪli/
/ˈsɪli/
(British English also silly billy)
[singular] (informal)- often used when speaking to children to say that they are not behaving in a sensible way
- No, silly, those aren't your shoes!
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘deserving of pity or sympathy’): alteration of dialect seely ‘happy’, later ‘innocent, feeble’, from a West Germanic base meaning ‘luck, happiness’. The sense ‘foolish’ developed via the stages ‘feeble’ and ‘unsophisticated, ignorant’.
Check pronunciation:
silly