Silly

a. [compar. SILLIER; superl. SILLIEST.] [O. Eng. seely, sely, Scot. sely, A-S. sælig, gesælig, happy, good; O. Sax. sælig, D. zalig, Icel. sælig, O. H. Ger. sâlig, M. H. Ger. sælic, N. H. Ger. selig. See SEELY and SEEL.]

1Sense 1. Happy; fortunate. [Obs.] Wycliffe.

2Sense 2. Harmless; innocent; inoffensive. [Obs.] The silly virgin strove him to withstand. Spenser.

3Sense 3. Weak; helpless; frail. [Obs.] After long storms . . . With which my silly bark was tossed. Spenser. The silly buckets on the deck That had so long remained,— I dreamed that they were filled with dew; And when I woke it rained. Coleridge.

4Sense 4. Rustic; rural. [Obs.] “A fourth man in a silly habit.” Shak.

5Sense 5. Weak in intellect; destitute of ordinary strength of mind; foolish; witless; simple; as, a silly man; a silly child.

6Sense 6. Proceeding from want of understanding or common judgment; characterized by weakness or folly; unwise; absurd; stupid. “All that did their silly thoughts so busy keep.” Milton.

Synonyms— Simple; brainless; witless; shallow; foolish; unwise; indiscreet; imprudent. See SIMPLE.