Etymologically
Log in

sandy

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:48. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsændi/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English sandie, from Old English sandiġ (“of the nature of sand”), from sand and -y.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Consisting of or containing much sand: about 1000 in the OED.[5][4]

Semantic evolution

Of sand used to measure time, as in an hourglass, it is from 1591,[5] and figuratively, lacking cohesion or stability, from 1590.[5] Of hair, yellowish-red, is from 1523,[5] the 1520s in Etymonline.[2] As the name of a colour it is from 1819.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – consisting of sand.[5]
  • 1523 – of hair, yellowish-red.[5]
  • 1590 – unstable (figurative).[5]
  • 1819 – a colour.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Covered with or consisting of sand.
  2. Of hair, light yellowish-red.
  3. Of a pale yellowish-brown colour.

Word family

  • sandiness
  • sandy blight

Usage notes

Sandy is also a pet form of Alexander, used in Scotland from 1473 and as a nickname for a Scotsman from 1785, a use that also puns on sandy hair.[5][2][4]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c 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