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groovy

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Etymology and origin of the English word groovy

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1853 O. Byrne, Handbook for the Artisan
Ultimate origins
Middle Dutch groeveEnglish -y
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English groove
English groovy

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is formed from English groove + -y, from the noun.[2][3][4][5][6] The slang sense comes from the jazz phrase in the groove, performing well (1932).[5] Green's Dictionary of Slang quotes Mezz Mezzrow's “Really the Blues” (1946): musicians are groovy "when they pool their talents… and slip into the same groove".[7] The noun probably comes from Middle Dutch groeve (“ditch”),[4][5] or from a Scandinavian source, which Etymonline also allows.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or like a groove: 1853, in O. Byrne's Handbook for the Artisan.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1850.[5]

Semantic evolution

The figurative use of groove for a routine or rut (1842)[5] gave groovy its first figurative sense, inclined to run in grooves, narrow and set in one's ways (1882).[2][5][8] Green's Dictionary of Slang quotes The Times in 1889, fearing that pantomime at Drury Lane might become "groovy", and Ian Hay calling schoolmasters hidebound and "groovy" (1914).[7] A new sense came from jazz: in 1937 American Speech recorded groovey as musicians' slang for a state of mind that makes for good playing,[7][2] and by then it also meant first-rate.[5] As teenagers' slang for "wonderful" it dates from about 1941; it became widespread in the mid-1960s and was out of fashion by 1980.[5] Merriam-Webster now labels it dated slang, and Collins old-fashioned and often jocular.[8][9] In Glasgow gang slang of the 1960s a groovy was a scar.[7]

Timeline

  • 1853 – of or like a groove.[2] Etymonline dates it to 1850.[5]
  • 1882 – set in a routine, in a rut.[2][5][8]
  • 1937 – in jazz, playing well; excellent.[2][5][7]
  • c. 1941 – teenagers' slang for wonderful.[5]
  • 1960s – widespread as a general term of approval.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (dated slang) Very good, enjoyable or exciting; wonderful: That was a groovy party.[8][9][3]
  2. (dated slang) fashionable and up to date; trendy.[9][3]
  3. Of jazz or popular music or its players: played with ease and brilliance; swinging.[2][3]
  4. Of or like a groove.[2][3]
  5. (colloquial, now rare) Set in a narrow routine; in a rut.[2][3][7]

Word family

  • grooviness

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  8. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Groovy.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/groovy. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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