Etymologically
Log in

funny

Etymology and origin of the English word funny

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1756
Ultimate origin
English (fun,-y)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English fun
English funny

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈfʌn.i/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English fun + -y.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Humorous, comical”: 1756.[2][5][3] In the same year it was also slang for “tipsy”, now obsolete.[5]

Semantic evolution

The meaning “strange, odd, puzzling” is by 1806, said to be originally Southern American English.[2][5] The two senses led to the question funny ha-ha or funny peculiar?, attested by 1916.[2][5] The funny bone, the point of the elbow where a nerve lies exposed, is from 1826, named for the tingling when it is struck.[2][5] Funny business was a clown's comic action from 1860, and the funnies, comic strips, are from 1852.[5] A funny man was a circus or stage clown from 1854,[2] and a funny farm, a mental hospital, is slang from 1962.[2] In Scots and English dialect funny meant “strange, eccentric”, not necessarily humorous.[6]

Timeline

  • 1756 – humorous.[2][5]
  • 1806 – strange, odd.[2][5]
  • 1826 – funny bone.[2]
  • 1852 – the funnies.[5]
  • 1854 – funny man.[2]
  • 1916 – funny ha-ha or funny peculiar.[2]
  • 1962 – funny farm.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Causing laughter; amusing or comical.
  2. Strange or odd; curious.
  3. Suspicious or deceitful: no funny business.

Noun

  1. (informal) A joke.
  2. (plural) Comic strips, or the section of a newspaper that contains them.

Word family

  • funnily
  • funniness
  • funnyman
  • unfunny
  • funny bone
  • funny farm
  • funny money
  • funny book

Usage notes

An unrelated funny, from 1799, of uncertain origin, is a narrow rowing boat for one sculler.[5][4]

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. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ 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)
Cite this entry

“Funny.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/funny. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·