Etymologically
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randy

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈræn.di/[1]

Etymology

It is a Scottish word, probably formed from obsolete rand, to rant or rave (1601), a variant of rant, and -y.[2][3][4][5] Merriam-Webster and the NODE take rand from obsolete Dutch randen (“to rant”).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rude, aggressive, loud-tongued, in Scots: 1698 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1690s in Etymonline;[2][6][3] Merriam-Webster gives 1665.[4] In early use it was always said of beggars, probably implying a vagrant life as well as rudeness.[3]

Semantic evolution

In dialect it meant boisterous, riotous or dissipated from 1787,[6] and lewd or lustful from before 1847.[2][6][3] As a noun it was a sturdy rough beggar (1788) and a coarse, loud woman, a scold (1816).[6] A noisy merry-making was a randy from 1825,[6] and in dialects across Scotland, Ireland and England a frolic or spree.[7]

Timeline

  • 1601 – rand, to rave.[2]
  • 1698 – rude, aggressive (Scots).[2][6]
  • 1787 – boisterous, riotous.[6]
  • 1816 – a scold (noun).[6]
  • before 1847 – lustful.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. (informal, chiefly British) Sexually aroused or eager; lustful.
  2. (chiefly Scottish) Without restraint or propriety; reckless; ill-mannered.

Noun

  1. (chiefly Scottish) A rude or reckless person, or a coarse rowdy woman.

Word family

  • randiness
  • rant

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ 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)