funny English · revision 3289

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1756}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈfʌn.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|fun|-y]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Humorous, comical”: 1756.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) In the same year it was also slang for “tipsy”, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The meaning “strange, odd, puzzling” is by 1806, said to be originally Southern American English.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The two senses led to the question ''funny ha-ha or funny peculiar?'', attested by 1916.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The ''funny bone'', the point of the elbow where a nerve lies exposed, is from 1826, named for the tingling when it is struck.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Funny business'' was a clown's comic action from 1860, and the ''funnies'', comic strips, are from 1852.^(OED 1989) A ''funny man'' was a circus or stage clown from 1854,^(Etymonline) and a ''funny farm'', a mental hospital, is slang from 1962.^(Etymonline) In Scots and English dialect ''funny'' meant “strange, eccentric”, not necessarily humorous.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1756 – humorous.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1806 – strange, odd.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1826 – ''funny bone''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1852 – ''the funnies''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1854 – ''funny man''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1916 – ''funny ha-ha or funny peculiar''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1962 – ''funny farm''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Causing laughter; [[amuse|alt=amusing]] or [[comical]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Strange or odd; [[curious]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Suspicious or [[deceit|alt=deceitful]]: ''no funny business''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(informal)'' A joke.^(AHD)

+ # ''(plural)'' [[comic strip|alt=Comic strips]], or the section of a newspaper that contains them.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[funnily]]

+ * [[funniness]]

+ * [[funnyman]]

+ * [[unfunny]]

+ * [[funny bone]]

+ * [[funny farm]]

+ * [[funny money]]

+ * [[funny book]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fun]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ An unrelated ''funny'', from 1799, of uncertain origin, is a narrow rowing boat for one sculler.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}