From ‘gazump’ to ‘gobsmack’, ‘squiffy’ to ‘snog’, British English is full of words that sound like barmy balderdash. It’s also full of words, with origins ranging from the 1700s to the 1980s, that have two qualities in common: they’re all rather silly-sounding, and they’re all British English.

Old English

silly (adj.) Old English gesælig “happy, fortuitous, prosperous” (related to sæl “happiness”), from Proto-Germanic *sæligas (source also of Old Norse sæll “happy,” Old Saxon salig, Middle Dutch salich, Old High German salig, German selig “blessed, happy, blissful,” Gothic sels “good, kindhearted”).

“Silly goes the other direction,” Curzan explains. “Silly goes all the way back to Old English, when silly meant happy or blessed.” This positive term quickly changed. Silly became a synonym for innocent or harmless, and then became an adjective for something or someone worthy of sympathy.

/ˈsɪl.i/ B1. showing little thought or judgment: Don’t do that, you silly boy! a silly mistake.

In north America the word is generally harmless. When you call someone silly, you are not insulting their intelligence. Rather, you are likely calling them goofy, funny, playful (often in a childish way). The word is mostly used when talking to children.

silly; adjective “having or showing a lack of common sense or judgment; absurd and foolish.” “ridiculously trivial or frivolous.” “used to convey that an activity or process has been engaged in to such a degree that someone is no longer capable of thinking or acting sensibly.”

What is the opposite of silly?

Being silly is seriously good for people. Numerous studies have shown that folks who laugh regularly are more likely to be healthy both mentally and physically. Having fun is a key way to relax while also letting our minds grow and wander.

The word “nice,” Oxford claims, has pretty negative roots in the Latin “nescius,” meaning “ignorant.” But it really took off in the 14th century as a term for something foolish or silly. The negative connotations ballooned from there. Dive deeper into the Middle Ages, and the meaning deflated.

awful (adj.) 1300, agheful “worthy of respect or fear, striking with awe; causing dread,” from aghe, an earlier form of awe (n.), + -ful. The Old English word was egefull. Weakened sense “very bad” is from 1809; weakened sense of “excessively, very great” is by 1818.

Originally, awful had the meaning of being awe-inspiring (including positive connotations), as well as “worthy of, or commanding, profound respect or reverential fear.” It was not a far stretch to then use it also to mean “Causing dread; terrible, dreadful, appalling.” The earliest records of these uses date back to at …

1 : conspicuous especially : conspicuously bad : flagrant egregious errors egregious padding of the evidence — Christopher Hitchens.

The definition of egregious is extraordinary, but in a negative way. An example of egregious is a person who is a fantastic liar. Outrageously bad; shocking.

1 : to be extremely joyful : rejoice the team exulted in their victory. 2 obsolete : to leap for joy.

Someone or something that is prolific is fruitful or highly productive. A prolific songwriter can churn out five hit tunes before breakfast. A prolific writer cranks out two novels a year, and a prolific rabbit has baby bunnies every few months.

When used in this sense, the word frequently implies that a person has a highly creative, active mind. Just like with the literal meaning, though, to be prolific, a person has to produce in abundance, at least relatively speaking.

Prolific sentence example. Linguet was a prolific writer in many fields. In addition to these and other laborious researches, Kopp was a prolific writer. In 1086 eels were prolific in Wisbech water.

adjective. producing offspring, young, fruit, etc., abundantly; highly fruitful: a prolific pear tree. producing in large quantities or with great frequency; highly productive: a prolific writer.

Some common synonyms of prolific are fecund, fertile, and fruitful. While all these words mean “producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit,” prolific stresses rapidity of spreading or multiplying by or as if by natural reproduction.