English Explanatory Dictionary

barmy

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Containing, covered with, or pertaining to barm (“foam rising upon beer or other malt liquors when fermenting, used as leaven in brewing and making bread”).
  2. Bubbling with activity or excitement; active, excited.
adj
  1. Crazy, mad; also, eccentric, odd, strange.
  2. Very foolish.
noun
  1. plural of barma (“a regal Russian mantle or neckpiece made of gold, encrusted with diamonds and other gems”)

Pronunciation

/ˈbɑːmi/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-barmy.wav /ˈbɑɹmi/

Word forms

barmy barmier barmiest

Etymology

From barm (“foam rising upon beer or other malt liquors when fermenting, and used as leaven”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). Barm is derived from Middle English berm, berme (“foam rising upon ale or beer fermenting; leaven, yeast; foam or head of beer produced by pouring”) [and other forms], from Old English beorma (“foam or head of beer; leaven, yeast”), from Proto-West Germanic *bermō (“barm; yeast”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- (“to boil; to brew”) or *gʷʰer- (“warm; hot”).

Synonyms

balmy dotty goofy wacko aberrant abnormal anomalous barmy bizarre crackpot cranky eccentric eccentrical erratic excentrical extraordinary far-out freakish heteroclite idiocentric idiosyncratic irregular kookish kooky nutbar odd oddballish off-centre outlandish outré peculiar pixilated queer quirky quizzy spacy squirrelly uncommon wacky weird whimsical whimsome wifty Wodehousian Wonkaesque 5150 bananas barking barking mad buggish buggy bughouse batchy batpoop bats batty bonkers bread baskets cracked crackers

Antonyms

average medial basic bog-standard common commonplace common-and-garden common-or-garden congruent consistent conventional customary everyday expected garden variety improminent mundane natural normal ordinary par for the course plain plain vanilla quotidian regular routine run-of-the-mill standard standard issue typical unexceptional unremarkable unstrange usual vulgar wakeaday workaday sane balanced compos mentis in one's right mind in possession of one's faculties lucid rational reasonable sound-minded astute clairvoyant deep frood grounded judicious oracular perspicacious politic profound prudent quick-witted sagacious sage

Derived words

barmily barminess Barmy Army
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