Etymologically
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crazy

Etymology and origin of the English word crazy

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1570s
Ultimate origin
Middle English (crasen)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English craze
English crazy

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkreɪ.zi/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English craze + -y,[2][3][4][5] and the verb craze originally meant “to break in pieces, shatter”, so a crazy person has had their sanity shattered.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Diseased, sickly”: 1576[7] or the 1570s,[2] a sense now obsolete.[2] Merriam-Webster dates the adjective to 1566.[4][8]

Semantic evolution

“Full of cracks or flaws, broken, unsound” is from 1583[7] or the 1580s.[2] “Frail, infirm” is from 1601, and “ruined, bankrupt” from 1700.[7] “Of unsound mind, mad” is from 1617[7] or the 1610s,[2] often used as an exaggeration.[7] Crazy bone, for the funny bone, is from 1853,[2] and crazy quilt from 1886 keeps the old sense “broken in pieces”.[2] The noun, a mad or eccentric person, is from 1867,[7][8] and the adverb, “extremely”, from 1887.[7] To drive someone crazy is by 1873, like crazy “with great energy” by 1905 in Etymonline[2] or 1924, originally American, in the OED.[7] The jazz-slang sense “cool, exciting” is by 1927,[2] and crazy like a fox by 1935.[2]

Timeline

  • 1576 – sickly.[7]
  • 1583 – full of cracks.[7]
  • 1617 – insane.[7]
  • 1853 – crazy bone.[2]
  • 1867 – noun, a mad person.[7]
  • 1886 – crazy quilt.[2]
  • 1887 – adverb, extremely.[7]
  • 1927 – jazz slang, exciting.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Mentally ill; insane.
  2. Foolish or impractical: a crazy idea.
  3. Very enthusiastic or infatuated: crazy about her.
  4. Wild or very excited.
  5. (archaic) Full of cracks; unsound or frail.

Noun

  1. (informal) A person who is or seems insane.

Adverb

  1. (informal) Extremely.

Word family

  • crazily
  • craziness
  • crazyweed
  • stir-crazy
  • crazy bone
  • crazy eights

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Crazy.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/crazy. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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