golly

[ gol-ee ]
See synonyms for golly on Thesaurus.com
interjectionInformal.
  1. (used as a mild exclamation expressing surprise, wonder, puzzlement, pleasure, or the like.)

Origin of golly

1
First recorded in 1840–50; euphemistic alteration of God

Words Nearby golly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use golly in a sentence

  • If dat preacher goes to run a bar agin me,” he says, “py golly, I makes no more moneys!

    Alec Lloyd, Cowpuncher | Eleanor Gates
  • "golly, but she's a gold dollar in a gold bank," remarked Jesse Bulrush warmly as he lurched into the street.

  • "By golly, I wouldn't go and feel that foolish again, not if yuh paid me for it," Slim declared.

    The Happy Family | Bertha Muzzy Bower
  • "By golly, I want t' have a talk with that there broncho-tamer," Slim growled behind them.

    The Happy Family | Bertha Muzzy Bower
  • "He didn't need no field glass to see you was a suspicious character, by golly," chortled Slim.

    The Happy Family | Bertha Muzzy Bower

British Dictionary definitions for golly (1 of 3)

golly1

/ (ˈɡɒlɪ) /


interjection
  1. an exclamation of mild surprise or wonder

Origin of golly

1
C19: originally a euphemism for God

British Dictionary definitions for golly (2 of 3)

golly2

/ (ˈɡɒlɪ) /


nounplural -lies
  1. British informal short for golliwog

British Dictionary definitions for golly (3 of 3)

golly3

/ (ˈɡɒlɪ) Australian slang /


verb-lies, -lying or -lied
  1. to spit

nounplural -lies
  1. a gob of spit

Origin of golly

3
C20: altered from gollion a gob of phlegm, probably of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012