guy

A2 Topic:People & Society

US /ɡaɪ/ UK [ɡaɪ] See IPA manual

Freq #187

Meanings

1

noun
A man or boy (informal).

He's a really nice guy.
2

noun
People in a group, used to address them informally.

Hey guys, are you ready to go?
3

noun
A thing or item you point to instead of naming it (informal).

This little guy here controls the volume.

Word forms

The same word in different grammatical forms.

Noun

Guy and guys are informal.

Singular: guy
That guy is my neighbour.
Plural: guys
Those guys are my neighbours.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a man or boy (informal). bloke chap fellow

Word family

Derived forms cis-guycisguydemiguydoomguyeveryguyfall-guyguy-friendguy-wireguybrowsguydomguyhoodguyish

Related forms wyatt

Appears in

Phrases (5)

See all

bad guy
the villain or wrongdoer in a situation

Adjective + noun
good guy
a person who is morally upright or likeable

Adjective + noun
regular guy
an ordinary, unpretentious person

Adjective + noun
tough guy
a person who appears strong, aggressive, or emotionally hard

Adjective + noun
nice guy
a man considered kind, friendly, or pleasant

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (3)

See all

Simplified etymology

Guy for a person developed in the late 19th century from an earlier term for someone grotesquely dressed or looking. That sense came from Guy, an effigy of the Gunpowder Plot conspirator Guy Fawkes traditionally paraded and burned on 5 November. Guy meaning a supporting rope is unrelated and probably comes from German.

Etymology

Coined by semantic widening from the name of Guy Fawkes (1570–1606), an English Catholic executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot, from Old French Gui, a form of Proto-Germanic *Wido, a short form of names beginning with the element witu "wood" from Proto-Germanic *widuz, such as Witold and Widukind. Cognate with Italian Guido.

*h₁weydʰh₁- Proto-Indo-European Gui Old French *Wido Proto-Germanic *widuz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Register & Style

External links

# guy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɡaɪ/
**IPA (UK):** [ɡaɪ]
**Frequency rank:** 187

## Meanings
1. A man or boy (informal).
2. People in a group, used to address them informally.
3. A thing or item you point to instead of naming it (informal).

## Examples
- He's a really nice guy.
- Hey guys, are you ready to go?
- This little guy here controls the volume.

## Derived Forms
- cis-guy
- cisguy
- demiguy
- doomguy
- everyguy
- fall-guy
- guy-friend
- guy-wire
- guybrows
- guydom
- guyhood
- guyish

## Related Forms
- wyatt

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₁weydʰh₁-
- Root: Gui
- Root: *Wido
- Root: *widuz

## Etymology
Coined by semantic widening from the name of Guy Fawkes (1570–1606), an English Catholic executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot, from Old French Gui, a form of Proto-Germanic *Wido, a short form of names beginning with the element witu "wood" from Proto-Germanic *widuz, such as Witold and Widukind. Cognate with Italian Guido.

## AI Etymology
Guy was coined by semantic widening from the name of Guy Fawkes (1570–1606), an English Catholic executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot, from Old French Gui, a form of Proto-Germanic *Wido, a short form of names beginning with the element witu "wood" from Proto-Germanic *widuz, such as Witold and Widukind. Cognate with Italian Guido. The historical line also includes *h₁weydʰh₁- (Proto-Indo-European). In current use, the main senses are “A man or boy (informal)” and “People in a group, used to address them informally”.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Register & Style

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guy