guy
[ɡaɪ]
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.40 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An effigy of a man burned on a bonfire on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot (5th November).
British usage
Example Sentences
- "“But shan’t I look a guy?” “Not a bit of it. Jist the very kick!”"
- "I am always a perfect guy, whatever I wear, when I sit against a red curtain. You men say that a woman always knows when she’s good-looking, but I am happy to say I know when I look a guy."
- "And the lady from the provinces, who dresses like a guy, And who “doesn’t think she dances, but would rather like to try” […]."
- "Why are you so ashamed that her child saw you looking a guy, sprawled on the floor, spilling cakes?"
- "“You don't say so? I thought he was some guy from Pennsylvania.”"
- ""Hi, guys. Did you have a fun time at school?" said Katherine. "Yeah we did," said Stacy."
Etymology
Coined by semantic widening from the name of Guy Fawkes (1570–1606), an English Catholic executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot, which also came to refer to effigies of his image burned annually on Guy Fawkes Night. The name Guy is from Old French Gui, from a Frankish form of Proto-West Germanic *Widō (compare Old Dutch Wido), a short form of names beginning with the element *widu (“wood”), from Proto-Germanic *widuz. Cognate with Italian Guido. Doublet of guido.
Origin
- Source language: Old French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: [ɡaɪ]
- British English: [ɡaɪ]