creepy

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkɹipi/; /ˈkɹiːpi/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is from creep with the suffix -y.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Characterized by creeping or moving slowly: 1794.^[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Having a creeping feeling in the flesh, a chill of horror, is from 1831,^[2][4] and producing such a feeling, the main modern sense, from 1858 in Etymonline and 1883 in the OED.^[2][4] Creepy-crawly, a crawling insect, is from 1858.^[2] Annoyingly unpleasant or repulsive, of a person, is a later informal use.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1794 – creeping.^[4]
• 1831 – feeling a shudder.^[4]
• 1858 – causing a shudder; creepy-crawly.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Causing a sensation of unease or fear, as of things crawling on the skin; eerie.
2. (informal) Unpleasant in a disturbing way; repulsive.
3. Creeping or slow-moving.

Word family

• creepiness
• creepily
• creepy-crawly

Related words

• creeper
• creep
• creeps

Usage notes

In Scots and Yorkshire dialect, creepies were vermin or small crawling animals.^[8]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)