guyn.1
/ɡʌɪ/, U.S. /ɡaɪ/ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > one who guides
ruddereOE
guyour13..
lodesmanc1300
guya1375
guidec1385
conduct1423
wisserc1440
guiderc1450
conductor1481
convoyer1488
godfather?1541
pilota1560
compeller1587
godmother1593
prefect1608
Mercurialist1635
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2849 Þe herte & þe hinde þere þanne hem hed sone, as þe werwolf hem wissed þat ay was here gye.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2727 Þan hiȝed þei hem to þe hauen..as þe werwolf hem wissed þat was al here gye.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 812 Bath Forth and Tay thai left and passyt by. On the north cost gud Guthre was thar gy.
?a1535 To City of London (Vitellius) in J. Small Poems W. Dunbar (1893) II. 278 London..Thy famous Maire..is exampler, loode-ster, and guye.
2.
a. Chiefly Nautical. A rope used to guide and steady a thing which is being hoisted or lowered; also, a rope, chain, rod, etc. to secure or steady anything liable to shift its position or to be carried away, as the mast, funnel, etc. of a vessel, a derrick, a suspension-bridge, etc. lazy guy, ‘a small tackle or rope to prevent the spanker-boom from swaying about in fine weather’ (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1867). travelling guy (see quot. 1846).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > supporting rope
guide-ropec1400
stayc1515
guy1620
guide-tackle1665
side rope1726
guy-rope1793
guy-rod1903
1620 J. Taylor Praise of Hemp-seed 10 Shrowds, ratlings, lanyards, tackles, lifts, and guies.
1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 16 Sheeps feet is..a guie in staying the tackles when they are charged with goods.
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. v. 21 A Guy..is a rope brought to it from the fore mast, to keepe the weight vpon it steady.
1711 W. Sutherland Ship-builders Assistant 113 The Guy of the winding Tackle.
1756 Philos. Trans. 1755 (Royal Soc.) 49 352 His Majesty's ship the Gosport was..well-stay'd by guys and hawsers.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. viii. 174 The experienced seaman had let down with the chair another line, which, being attached to it, and held by the persons beneath, might serve by way of gy.
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. (at cited word) There are sometimes also guys attached to the jib-traveller, which get the name of travelling guys.
1863 S. Baring-Gould Iceland 105 Drive the [tent-] pegs home and stretch the guys.
1875 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. (ed. 2) v. 173 A broken oar is driven into the sand, and supported by guys of spun yarn.
1882 G. S. Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 207 If the wind is light, get a lazy guy on the spanker boom.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 24 Nov. 9/1 About six o'clock the funnel guy was carried away.
b. Nautical slang. Phrase to clap a guy on: to put a stop to; to ‘stow’.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restrain [verb (transitive)]
pindeOE
steerc950
hold971
forbidc1000
withstewc1175
withholdc1200
stewa1225
crempa1250
bistintc1300
i-stillc1315
withdraw1340
entemperc1380
rebukec1380
forfenda1382
refraina1382
refrainc1390
restraina1393
restayc1400
retainc1415
to hold abackc1440
overholda1450
reclaim?c1450
revokec1450
bedwynge1480
sniba1500
repressa1525
rein1531
inhibit1535
to keep back1535
cohibit1544
reprimec1550
lithe1552
to rein up1574
check1581
embridle1583
to rein in1593
retrench1594
refrenate1599
to hold back1600
snip1601
becheck1605
sneap1611
trasha1616
supersede1645
reprimand1689
snape1691
to clap a guy on1814
to pull up1861
to pull in1893
withstrain1904
1814 Sailors' Return ii. vi I..request you will join us at dinner, if you'll only clap a guy on your low lingo.
Compounds
C1. attributive and in other combinations (in sense 2), as guy-chain, guy-crane, guy-line, guy-peg, guy-rope, guy-tackle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > supporting rope
guide-ropec1400
stayc1515
guy1620
guide-tackle1665
side rope1726
guy-rope1793
guy-rod1903
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §254 (note) The shears were kept upright, and were managed, by two strong guy (or guide) ropes.
1861 Man. Artil. Exerc. 175 As soon as the centre of each tent is marked by a peg, 4 guy pegs are driven to the front, rear, right and left.
1866 T. Seaton From Cadet to Colonel I. 19 From a strong ring in the deck, near the head of the boat, ran a guy rope.
1879 Man. Artil. Exerc. 640 For guy tackles likely to be wetted with salt water tarred cordage should be used.
1879 R. S. Ball in Cassell's Techn. Educator I. 208 In a crane which is often used for quarrying and other rough purposes, and which is sometimes called a guy crane, there are two stays.
1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy x. 152 We took a guy line from the wagon and snubbed it to a tree.
1928 Daily Express 7 Apr. 5/5 Drive in the remaining pegs and attach and true up the remaining guylines.
C2.
guy rein n. a guiding or leading rein.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > lead
stringa1300
banda1400
head rope1810
tending-string1821
lead-rope1846
leading-string1859
jerk line1865
guy rein1869
headline1889
1869 Daily News 12 June A gentleman leading a beautiful child by a guy rein. He is mounted on a superb bay, his little companion on a cream-coloured pony.
guy-rod n. a rod used in place of a guy-rope.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > supporting rope
guide-ropec1400
stayc1515
guy1620
guide-tackle1665
side rope1726
guy-rope1793
guy-rod1903
1903 Electr. World & Engineer 31 Oct. 711 Guy-rods are 8 ft. × 5/ 8 in., provided with an eye at one end.
1910 Hawkins' Electr. Dict. Guy Rod Bands, bands by which a guy rod is attached to a telegraph pole.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
guyn.2
/ɡʌɪ/, U.S. /ɡaɪ/ 1.
a. An effigy of Guy Fawkes traditionally burnt on the evening of November the Fifth, usually with a display of fireworks. Also in full Guy Fawkes. Guys were formerly paraded about in the streets on the anniversary of the ‘Gunpowder Plot’ (Nov. 5). They are now more frequently exhibited by children collecting money for fireworks during the days preceding Nov. 5.The figure is habited in grotesquely ragged and ill-assorted garments (whence sense 2), and was formerly accompanied by other similar effigies (representing unpopular persons), to which the name of ‘guys’ is often given by extension.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > festive occasion > persons and characters > [noun] > effigy in Guy Fawkes day festivities
pope1674
guy1806
1806 W. Burrell in Lett. C. K. Sharpe (1888) I. 277 A month ago there was neither shape nor make in me... No guy ever matched me.
1825 W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) I. 1430 Formerly an old cocked hat was the reigning fashion for a ‘Guy’.
1861 C. M. Yonge Young Step-mother xxix. 442 ‘There's Guy Fawkes,’ cried Albinia, as a procession of scare-crows were borne on chairs amid thunders of acclamation.
1863 C. Dickens Uncommerc. Traveller in All Year Round 18 July 494/2 Once on a fifth of November I found a ‘Guy’ trusted to take care of himself there, while his proprietors had gone to dinner.
1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset II. lx. 175 What are you doing there, dressed up in that way like a guy?
1968 Listener 7 Nov. 606 I'm afraid Simon is rather burnt. It was so dark some of the children thought he was the guy.
1970 R. Garrett Run Down iv. 95 It was the first Saturday of November. There were dozens of Guy Fawkes of varying merit lined along each street.
b. Guy Fawkes day (night), 5 Nov., the anniversary of the ‘Gunpowder plot’. Also elliptical.
ΘΠ
the world > time > particular time > an anniversary > [noun] > of battles, wars, treaties, etc.
day of truce1486
Evil May Dayc1590
Bonfire Night1661
Pope Day1769
Pope Night1773
the Fourth (of July)1779
Town Taking Day1788
Independence Day1791
Independent Day1803
Guy Fawkes day1825
Bastille Day1837
Trafalgar Day1837
Turkey Day1870
Canada Day1882
Juneteenth1890
flag-day1894
Patriots' Day1894
Remembrance Day1895
twelfth1896
Quatorze Juillet1899
quatorze1915
Armistice Day1918
Poppy Day1921
Remembrance Sunday1925
VJ-day1944
Commonwealth Day1958
1825 W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) I. 1430/2 ‘Guy Fawkes-day’, or, as they as often call it, ‘Pope-day’, is a holiday, and.., on account of its festivous enjoyment, is the greatest holiday of the season.
1833 J. Romilly Diary 5 Nov. in Cambridge Diary (1967) i. 41 Webb (the W. merchant's) long dull son dined in hall with me being Guy Fawkes day.
1913 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. I. i. iv. 63 Suddenly he heard the cry, ‘Remember, remember the Fifth of November..,’ and, almost before he had time to realize it was the dreaded Guy Fawkes, a band of..boys..held close to the window a nodding Guy.
1970 Times 4 Nov. 2/2 The reserves of stamina the [fire]men have to build up for Guy Fawkes night each year.
2. A person of grotesque appearance, esp. with reference to dress; a ‘fright’.
ΘΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > [noun] > grotesqueness > person
mammet1461
scarecrow1590
antic1597
fright1751
figure1774
jigger1825
guy1836
flibbertigibbet1878
worricow1894
1836 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 9 The gentlemen are all ‘rigged Tropical’,..grisly Guys some of them turn out!
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. II. x. 174 He was such an old guy in his dress.
1880 Daily Tel. 15 Oct. We have far too many sculptured ‘Guys’ in the metropolis.
1893 H. Vizetelly Glances Back I. ii. 33 Little boys..were dressed up to look the greatest of guys.
3. slang.
a. A dark lantern. ? Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > [noun] > lamp > lantern > with a slide to hide light
blind lantern1581
dark lantern1612
darkie1811
guy1811
1811 Lexicon Balatronicum (at cited word) Stow the guy: conceal the lanthorn.
b. An act of decamping or running off ‘on the sly’. to give the guy to: to run away from, ‘give the slip to’. Also to do a guy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > run away or flee
fleec825
afleeeOE
atrina1000
atfleec1000
to run awayOE
to turn to or into flighta1225
to turn the ridgec1225
atrenc1275
atshakec1275
to give backa1300
flemec1300
startc1330
to take (on oneself) the flighta1500
to take the back upon oneselfa1500
fly1523
to take (also betake) (oneself) to one's legs1530
to flee one's way1535
to take to one's heels1548
flought?1567
fuge1573
to turn taila1586
to run off1628
to take flighta1639
refugea1641
to run for it1642
to take leg1740
to give (also take) leg-bail1751
bail1775
sherry1788
to pull foot1792
fugitate1830
to tail off (out)1830
to take to flight1840
to break (strike, etc.) for (the) tall timber1845
guy1879
to give leg (or legs)1883
rabbit1887
to do a guy1889
high-tail1908
to have it on one's toes1958
the world > action or operation > safety > escape > [noun] > stealthy
moonlight flitting1721
mizzle1789
sneak1819
moonlight flit1824
guy1889
moonlight1958
1889 Sporting Times 3 Aug. 5/5 (Farmer) A cheerful guy to Waterloo was the game.
1897 Daily News 7 June 3/5 Prisoner..‘done a guy’... He did what? Witness—He ‘guyed’ off.
1898 Daily News 8 Sept. 2/3 ‘He's done a guy’... The Coroner—Done a what? Witness—Done a guy; ‘bunked’.
1899 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 378/1 Don't think to give us the guy.
1925 N. Venner Imperfect Impostor xiii. 221 He's just picked me up out of the road with a sprained ankle, or very near it, bandaged me up like a medical student, and brought me home. Then he wants to do a guy at the front door.
1954 N. Balchin Last Recoll. Uncle Charles iii. 43 It was..not so very surprising that he should ‘do a guy’, as they put it locally, with his employers' money.
c. (See quot. 1835.)
ΚΠ
1835 Tait's Edinb. Mag. New Ser. 2 451 These crimps are Jews; there are a few Christians who profess the same commercial faith, and they are called guys. These crimps and guys prey like sharks on the unfortunate sailors.
d. A man, fellow. Originally U.S.The earliest examples may be influenced by sense 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > man > [noun]
churla800
werec900
rinkeOE
wapmanc950
heOE
wyeOE
gomeOE
ledeOE
seggeOE
shalkOE
manOE
carmanlOE
mother bairnc1225
hemea1250
mother sona1250
hind1297
buck1303
mister mana1325
piecec1325
groomc1330
man of mouldc1330
hathela1350
sire1362
malea1382
fellowa1393
guestc1394
sergeant?a1400
tailarda1400
tulka1400
harlotc1405
mother's sona1470
frekea1475
her1488
masculinea1500
gentlemana1513
horse?a1513
mutton?a1513
merchant1549
child1551
dick1553
sorrya1555
knavea1556
dandiprat1556
cove1567
rat1571
manling1573
bird1575
stone-horse1580
loona1586
shaver1592
slave1592
copemate1593
tit1594
dog1597
hima1599
prick1598
dingle-dangle1605
jade1608
dildoa1616
Roger1631
Johnny1648
boy1651
cod1653
cully1676
son of a bitch1697
cull1698
feller1699
chap1704
buff1708
son of a gun1708
buffer1749
codger1750
Mr1753
he-man1758
fella1778
gilla1790
gloak1795
joker1811
gory1819
covey1821
chappie1822
Charley1825
hombre1832
brother-man1839
rooster1840
blokie1841
hoss1843
Joe1846
guy1847
plug1848
chal1851
rye1851
omee1859
bloke1861
guffin1862
gadgie1865
mug1865
kerel1873
stiff1882
snoozer1884
geezer1885
josser1886
dude1895
gazabo1896
jasper1896
prairie dog1897
sport1897
crow-eater1899
papa1903
gink1906
stud1909
scout1912
head1913
beezer1914
jeff1917
pisser1918
bimbo1919
bozo1920
gee1921
mush1936
rye mush1936
basher1942
okie1943
mugger1945
cat1946
ou1949
tess1952
oke1970
bra1974
muzhik1993
1847 ‘Lord Chief Baron’ Swell's Night Guide (new ed.) 41 I can't tonight, for I am going to be seduced by a rich old Guy.
1863 C. Reade Hard Cash III. xiii. 270 I wouldn't speak to you in the street for fear of disgracing you; I am such a poor little guy to be addressing a gentleman like you.
1876 L. C. Barraud 15 Oct. in E. M. Barraud Story of Family (1967) xi. 133 The little children are such cures, and the nurses seem to go out with the master and mistress. The little boys look great guys.
1896 G. Ade Artie i. 3 You guys must think I'm a quitter.
1898 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Sentinel 22 Jan. 4/7 I s'pose you got a Bible you'll let a guy look into.
1904 Cincinnati Commercial Tribune 29 June 4 Mr. Bryan is a hefty guy when it comes to Democratic conventions and the platforms thereof.
1928 D. H. Lawrence in T.P.'s Weekly 7 July 333/3 I say to Mother: Show me somebody happy, then! And she shows me some guy, or some bright young thing, and gets mad when I say: See the pretty monkey!
1931 R. Campbell Georgiad i. 16 These are the guys that find the world forlorn And wish (correctly) they had not been born.
1931 D. Runyon (title) Guys and Dolls.
1932 E. Wilson Devil take Hindmost xi. 114 The literary guys are taking public matters more seriously.
1951 W. H. Auden Nones (1952) 62 Thou shalt not be on friendly terms With guys in advertising firms.
1966 P. G. Wodehouse Plum Pie i. 32 All the other places..had been full of guys and dolls standing bumper to bumper.
Derivatives
ˈguydom n. the state of being a guy.
ΘΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > [noun] > grotesqueness
grotesqueness1826
guydom1882
gargoylism1902
1882 A. Beresford-Hope Brandreths I. i. 3 He could not deny a woman's right to refuse to make a guy of herself, as she understood guydom.
Draft additions October 2011
colloquial. As a form of address to a man (cf. sense 3d). Also in plural as a form of address to a group of people, in later use sometimes a mixed or all-female group.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > man > [noun] > as a form of address
lordOE
wye1340
gentleman1534
old fellow1567
gaff1573
godhood1586
gaffer1590
dad1605
daddy1681
hearty1735
cock-of-wax1790
governor1819
bub1839
smarty1847
doc1870
guy1876
Sunny Jim1903
big guy1910
chief1927
daddy-o1944
pops1944
tosh1954
Sonny Jim1960
ese1961
majita1963
G1990
mi'jito1990
1876 Punch 14 Dec. 307 Look guys, court thumps and lumps!
1918 Stars & Stripes 5 Apr. 1/5 Tell you what, guy... This is better than what they useter be.
1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel i. 102 Say, yous guys, this is fellowworker McCreary.
1949 Los Angeles Times 6 Nov. ii. 7/1 (heading) Hey, guys! He's here. Santa gets set for early rush.
1975 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 31 Oct. 30/1 What we got here, guys, is a case of the LMFs. It's an old air force expression, and it means lack of moral fibre.
1993 M. Crichton Disclosure i. 22 Fuck 'em all. This reorg sucks. I'm with you on this one, guy.
2009 Private Eye 1 May 21/1 Hi, you guys! And special greetings, this Thetan Day, to all our brothers and sisters in the Scientology Community.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online December 2019).
† guyv.1
Obsolete.absolute.c1440 Generydes 2049 The formest warde All redy for to gye The kyng of Turkey had in gouernance.
1. transitive. To conduct or lead on the way; = guide v. 1; to direct the course of (a vehicle, an instrument, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > cause to move in a direction [verb (transitive)]
steerc888
righteOE
wisec1330
guy1362
makea1425
guide?a1505
to make forth1508
direct1526
to make out1560
bend1582
incline1597
work1667
usher1668
head1826
humour1847
vector1966
target1974
society > travel > aspects of travel > guidance in travel > show (the way) [verb (transitive)] > lead back
teachc893
forleadOE
to lead the wayc1175
kenc1200
dressc1330
lerec1330
guy1362
guidec1374
reduce?a1425
tell1485
way lead1485
arrect1530
reconduct1566
reduct1580
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > drive a vehicle [verb (transitive)] > steer
wisec1330
guy1362
guide?a1505
steer1756
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. ii. 162 Gyle was for-goere and gyede hem alle.
c1374 G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite (Harl.) 6 Yow fiers god of armes..Be present and my song contynne and guy.
c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame (Fairf.) ii. 435 Whan..Pheton wolde lede Algate hys Fader carte, and gye.
14.. T. Hoccleve Ad Beatam Virginem 49 Vn-to my soules helthe thow me gye!
1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 37 He gan hym forth hye Up on his jurne fully trostyng That the grace of god shuld hym riht gye.
c1470 J. Hardyng Chron. cxxxviii. ix Two hundred he kept, that ship to guie To Acres.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) x. l. 1187 Gydis thai chessyt fra strenthis thaim to ghy.
1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid ii. Prol. 18 Thyne is the cure my wofull pen to gy.
1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne x. ix. 181 A writhen staffe his steps vnstable guies.
2. To command (an army, etc.); to govern, rule (a country); to administer, manage (affairs, an office). Cf. guide v. 3, 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > rule or govern [verb (transitive)]
steera900
hold971
wieldOE
warda1000
redeOE
wisc1000
i-weldeOE
rightlecheOE
rightOE
raima1325
governc1325
guyc1330
rulea1387
justicec1390
rekea1400
reigna1413
lorda1450
earlc1450
seignoryc1475
over-govern1485
overrulec1488
emperyc1503
gubern?a1505
signorize1594
sway1613
gubernate1623
overlead1720
belord1858
prime minister1906
society > authority > control > [verb (transitive)] > manage or administer
steerc888
leadc1175
guyc1330
guidec1374
governa1382
ministera1382
treat1387
administer1395
dispose1398
skift?a1400
warda1400
solicit1429
to deal with1469
handlea1470
execute1483
convoy?a1513
conveyc1515
mayne1520
to bear (a person or thing) in (also an, a, on) handa1522
keepa1535
administrate1538
solicitate1547
to dispose of1573
manure1583
carry1600
manage1609
negotiate1619
conduct1632
to carry on1638
mesnage1654
nurse1745
work1841
operate1850
run1857
stage-manage1906
ramrod1920
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 92 Eustace of Ferers þat oste suld guye.
c1400 Rowland & O. 254 We will oure batells guy, And rape vs for to ryde Agayne þe Emperour.
a1420 T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum 4842 A kyng..moot don his diligence His peple for to gye by prudence.
c1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 5 Deocclivius Al the londe hadde to gye.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 100 Thy men of weir to governe and to gy.
1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne i. lxiii. 13 This band late heards and flocks that guied.
3.
a. To control or direct (a person or his actions); = guide v. 2 (Said of persons; also of immaterial things.)
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > [verb (transitive)]
wieldeOE
redeOE
temperc1000
wisc1000
yemec1000
aweldc1175
guy13..
rule1340
attemperc1374
stightlea1375
justifya1393
governa1400
moder1414
control1495
moderate1534
rein1557
manage1560
sway1587
to bear (a rein) upon1603
bridle1615
ephorize1647
puppet1840
coact1855
boss1856
run1869
swing1873
13.. Sir Beues 364 (MS. A) I schel þe sende..a riche erl, þat schel þe gie And teche þe of corteisie In þe ȝouþe.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1922 And Iuppiter so wys my soule gye To speken of a seruant proprely.
a1420 T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum 1335 Mesure is good; let hir þe gye and lede.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 138 Guy al thy thoghtis al tyme to do well.
a1510 G. Douglas King Hart i. 20 Nature had lymmit folk, for thair rewarde, This gudlie king to governe and to gy.
b. reflexive. To conduct or rule (oneself). Cf. guide v. 2c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > behave or conduct oneself [verb (reflexive)]
wieldOE
leadc1175
bear?c1225
steera1250
to take onc1275
contain1297
to shift one's handa1300
demeanc1320
guyc1325
govern1340
keep1362
havec1390
rulec1390
guide14..
conceivea1425
maintain?a1425
maynea1425
behavec1440
disporta1450
orderc1487
use1497
handle?1529
convey1530
gesture1542
treat1568
carry1584
deport1598
bestow1606
comport1616
mienc1680
conduct1706
c1325 Song of Yesterday 35 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 134 A syker ground who wol him gy I rede he þenke on ȝusterday.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1610 How schulle we now ous selue gye now ous lackeþ our hed?
1410 T. Hoccleve Balade to H. Somer 34 Paie your lagh as dooth an othir wight, Þat by mesure rulith him, and gyeth.
1430–40 J. Lydgate tr. Bochas Fall of Princes (1544) i. xii. 24 He yaue them lawes wherby they should them gye.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
guyv.2
/ɡʌɪ/, U.S. /ɡaɪ/ transitive. To fasten or secure with a guy or with guys. Also with down, out, up, etc. Chiefly Nautical. Also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > other nautical operations > [verb (transitive)] > fasten with guy or parrel
parrel1672
guy1712
1712 W. Rogers Cruising Voy. App. 18 You must anchor near the Shore, and an Hawser on Shore to guy your Ship.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxiii. 70 The swinging booms were then guyed out.
1861 Morning Chron. 20 Aug. (Crystal Palace Co. Advt.) It is essential the rope [of M. Blondin] should be well strained and guyed.
1882 G. S. Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 71 It is..necessary to guy it down by a rope.
1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge II. xvi. 224 Settles..guyed to the ceiling by cords..for stability.
1888 Harper's Mag. Apr. 711 As the Japanese have no bridge on the nose worth speaking of, the ponderous optical helps must be guyed in by cables of twine slung round the ears.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
guyv.3
/ɡʌɪ/, U.S. /ɡaɪ/ 1.
a. intransitive. To carry an effigy of Guy Fawkes about the streets on Guy Fawkes' day.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > festive occasion > specific festivities > [verb (intransitive)] > Guy Fawkes day festivities
guy1861
1861 H. Mayhew London Labour (new ed.) III. 72/1 I always used to spend the money I got guying on myself.
b. transitive. To exhibit (a person) in effigy.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > showing to the sight > exposure to public view > expose to public view [verb (transitive)] > in effigy
guy1894
1894 Daily Tel. 6 Nov. 5/3 The cavalcade gave the organisers the opportunity of ‘guying’ various faddists.
2. transitive. (Originally Theatrical slang.) To make an object of ridicule or derisive wit, to ridicule by innuendo; to trifle with a theatrical part. Also to guy at.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > deride, ridicule, or mock [verb (transitive)] > make ridiculous
to make (a) mock ofc1475
ridiculize?1615
turn1673
ridicule1684
to make a hare of1830
farcify1834
guy1854
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > wit with words > satire > satirize [verb (transitive)]
satire1602
satirize1619
parodize1768
guy1854
1854 A. C. Mowatt Autobiogr. Actress xv. 227 Good gracious! the audience will guy you!.. ‘Guy me? What do you mean by guy?’.. ‘Why, laugh at you, to be sure—and chaff you!’
1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad xxvi. 278 The Roman street-boy who..guyed the gladiators from the dizzy gallery.
1885 J. K. Jerome On Stage 151 I particularly remember..being ‘guyed’ on one occasion... The stage manager insisted on my wearing a most outrageous costume. I knew it would be laughed at.
1890 Lit. World 11 July 20 Mr. Burnand does not set himself to guy the book.
1890 A. Conan Doyle Sign of Four (ed. 3) vii. 116 I'm guyed at by the children.
1890 J. Jefferson Autobiogr. 219 With all this at stake, some wanton actor deliberately ‘guys’ his part and overturns the patient care of his comrade.
1893 Scribner's Mag. Sept. 384/2 She and Edith Merry had been studying Anglo-Saxon together, and he had guyed them both about it, calling them blue-stockings.
1895 W. Archer Theatr. ‘World’ 1894 xliii. 287 Larking and guying on the stage are my abhorrence.
1898 J. Hollingshead Gaiety Chron. x. 414 The actors, I am bound to say, treated this curious fossil of dramatic protection with more than proper respect, and did not ‘guy’ the parts allotted to them.
1906 Daily Chron. 31 Oct. 5/5 We must make an end of that disgusting blunder of guying them [sc. arrested suffragettes] up in hideous prison uniforms.
1963 Times 27 May 8/2 Francoise Sagan, British phlegmatism and many other picturesque aspects of contemporary life in the 1960s are gently but tellingly guyed by Mr. Kohout.
1970 G. Greer Female Eunuch 328 Vociferous women are guyed in the press.
Derivatives
ˈguying n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > [noun] > action of
hokering?c1225
scorninga1240
bourdingc1400
mocking?a1439
mockage1485
deriding1530
potting1553
frumping1611
ridiculing1680
illuding1696
guying1885
razzing1917
snook-cocking1950
1885 J. K. Jerome On Stage 152 ‘Guying’ is..indulged in only by the silliest portion of the audience.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
guyv.4
/ɡʌɪ/, U.S. /ɡaɪ/ slang.
intransitive. To go off, run away. Also with off.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > run away or flee
fleec825
afleeeOE
atrina1000
atfleec1000
to run awayOE
to turn to or into flighta1225
to turn the ridgec1225
atrenc1275
atshakec1275
to give backa1300
flemec1300
startc1330
to take (on oneself) the flighta1500
to take the back upon oneselfa1500
fly1523
to take (also betake) (oneself) to one's legs1530
to flee one's way1535
to take to one's heels1548
flought?1567
fuge1573
to turn taila1586
to run off1628
to take flighta1639
refugea1641
to run for it1642
to take leg1740
to give (also take) leg-bail1751
bail1775
sherry1788
to pull foot1792
fugitate1830
to tail off (out)1830
to take to flight1840
to break (strike, etc.) for (the) tall timber1845
guy1879
to give leg (or legs)1883
rabbit1887
to do a guy1889
high-tail1908
to have it on one's toes1958
1879 J. W. Horsley in Macmillan's Mag. 40 500/2 I planned with another boy to guy (run away).
1897 Daily News 7 June 3/5 Prisoner..‘done a guy’... He did what? Witness—He ‘guyed’ off.
1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad xxvi. 263 Jack, guy for your b—— life. The Squad are here and they're pinching everybody.
1963 Times 15 Feb. 4/7 Hurry up, I have had to do a chap, we will have to guy out of here.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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