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barmy

[ bahr-mee ]
/ ˈbɑr mi /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR barmy

adjective, barm·i·er, barm·i·est.

containing or resembling barm; frothy.
British Slang. balmy (def. 4).

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Origin of barmy

1525–35; barm + -y1; def. 2 probably respelling of balmy by r-less speakers

Words nearby barmy

barm cake, Barmecidal, Barmecide, Barmen, bar mitzvah, barmy, barn, Barnabas, Barnaby, barnacle, barnacle goose
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to barmy

flighty, foamy, foolish, frothy, screwy, loco

Example sentences from the Web for barmy

  • Well, then, hall Hi can say his hit sounds like barmy Yankee nonsense to me.

    The Glory of The Coming|Irvin S. Cobb

  • "If you ask me, I think the blighter is barmy," asserted the Briton.

    The Unspeakable Perk|Samuel Hopkins Adams

  • A man shall not be choak't With the stench of garlic, nor be pasted To the barmy jacket of a beer-brewer.

    Shakespearean Playhouses|Joseph Quincy Adams

  • None of them except Barmy Sid once visited his rooms; nor did he find it at all easy to strike up even a staircase acquaintance.

    Sinister Street, vol. 2|Compton Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for barmy

barmy
/ (ˈbɑːmɪ) /

adjective -mier or -miest

slang eccentric or foolishAlso: balmy

Word Origin for barmy

C16: originally, full of barm, hence frothing, excited, flighty, etc
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