Giddily

gid·dy  (gd)

adj. gid·di·er, gid·di·est

1.

a. Having a reeling, lightheaded sensation; dizzy.

b. Causing or capable of causing dizziness: a giddy climb to the topmast.

2. Frivolous and lighthearted; flighty.

intr. & tr.v. gid·died, gid·dy·ing, gid·dies

To become or make giddy.

---

[Middle English gidi, crazy, from Old English gidig; see gheu()- in Indo-European roots.]

---

giddi·ly adv.

giddi·ness n.

Synonyms: giddy, dizzy, vertiginous
These adjectives mean producing a sensation of whirling and a tendency to fall: a giddy precipice; a dizzy pinnacle; a vertiginous height.

Word History: The word giddy refers to fairly lightweight experiences or situations, but at one time it had to do with profundities. Giddy can be traced back to the same Germanic root *gud- that has given us the word God. The Germanic word *gudigaz formed on this root meant "possessed by a god." Such possession can be a rather unbalancing experience, and so it is not surprising that the Old English descendant of *gudigaz, gidig, meant "mad, possessed by an evil spirit," or that the Middle English development of gidig, gidi, meant the same thing, as well as "foolish; mad (used of an animal); dizzy; uncertain, unstable." Our sense "lighthearted, frivolous" represents the ultimate secularization of giddy.

Thesaurus

Adv.

1.

giddily - in a giddy light-headed manner; "he walked around dizzily" dizzily, light-headedly