Guy Meaning
/ɡæ/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn effigy of a man burned on a bonfire on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot (5th November).
nounA person of eccentric appearance or dress; a "fright".
Sentence Examples
Sometimes he can be a strange guy.
Look up the definition of 'guy' in your dictionary.
After a couple of drinks, the guy was feeling no pain.
CEFR Practice Quiz
That tall ____ helped me carry my groceries up the stairs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I saw a ____ wearing a bright red hat standing at the end of the pier, watching the sunset over the ocean.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"“But shan’t I look a guy?”
“Not a bit of it. Jist the very kick!”"
— 1845, Henry Cockton, The Love Match, Clark: W.M, page 77:
"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."
— 1865, Margaret Oliphant, “Miss Marjoribanks”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume 97, page 316:
"And the lady from the provinces, who dresses like a guy,
And who “doesn’t think she dances, but would rather like to try” […]."
— 1885, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert; Arthur Sullivan, composer, “s:The_Mikado/Act_I”, in […] The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu, London: Chappel & Co., […], →OCLC:
"Why are you so ashamed that her child saw you looking a guy, sprawled on the floor, spilling cakes?"
— 1978, Jane Gardam, God on the Rocks, Abacus, published 2014, page 138:
"“You don't say so? I thought he was some guy from Pennsylvania.”"
— 1873, ‘Mark Twain’, The Gilded Age:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
That tall ____ helped me carry my groceries up the stairs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I saw a ____ wearing a bright red hat standing at the end of the pier, watching the sunset over the ocean.