* enPR: gī, IPA(key): /ɡaɪ/ * Rhymes: -aɪ

From Old French _guie_. NOUN GUY (_plural_ GUYS) * (obsolete and rare) A guide; a leader or conductor. * (primarily nautical) A support rope or cable used to guide, steady or secure something which is being hoisted or lowered. Also a support to secure or steady something prone to shift its position or be carried away, e.g. the mast of a ship or a suspension-bridge. DERIVED TERMS * guy rope * guy wire TRANSLATIONS VERB GUY (_third-person singular simple present_ GUYS, _present participle_ GUYING, _simple past and past participle_ GUYED) * To equip with a support cable. TRANSLATIONS

Named from _Guy Fawkes_ (1570-1606), an English Catholic hanged for his role in the Gunpowder Plot. NOUN GUY (_plural_ GUYS) * (UK) An effigy of a man burned on a bonfire on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot (5th November). * (archaic) A person of eccentric appearance or dress. * W. S. Gilbert The lady […] who dresses like a GUY. (Can we find and add a quotation of Charles Dickens to this entry?) * (colloquial) A male _A new GUY started at the office today._ _Jane considers that GUY to be very good looking._ * (colloquial, in the plural) people _I wonder what those GUYS are doing with that cat?_ * (colloquial, of animals and sometimes objects) thing, creature _The dog's left foreleg was broken, poor little GUY._ * (colloquial, technology) thing, unit _This GUY, here, controls the current, and this GUY, here, measures the voltage._ * (informal, term of address) Buster, Mack, fella _Hey, GUY, give a man a break, would ya?_ USAGE NOTES * In plural, _guys_ is not completely gender-neutral but it may refer to people of either sex in some circumstances and forms; the greeting "_Hey GUYS_" can generally refer to people of either gender. This usage is not always seen as accurate or correct. Referring to a group as "_guys_" usually means a group of men or a mixed-gender group, since describing a group of women as _guys_, as in "_the Pussycat Dolls are a bunch of GUYS_", suggests that they are male, and is generally viewed as incorrect or inaccurate in that usage. In contrast, the all-male band Green Day could accurately be described as "_a bunch of GUYS_" in slang. The usage of the plural _guys_ in the phrase "_some GUYS chased them away_" would generally be assumed to mean men rather than women. * When used of animals, _guy_ usually refers to either a male or one whose gender is not known; it is rarely if ever used of an animal that is known to be female. * In some varieties of US and Canadian English, _you GUYS_ revives the distinction between a singular and plural _you_, much like _y'all_ in other varieties. SYNONYMS * (US) (man): dude, fella, homey, bro * (British) (man): bloke, geezer, cove, fellow, chap * See also Wikisaurus:man ANTONYMS * (male): gal * (male): girl DERIVED TERMS TRANSLATIONS VERB GUY (_third-person singular simple present_ GUYS, _present participle_ GUYING, _simple past and past participle_ GUYED) * (intransitive) To exhibit an effigy of Guy Fawkes around the 5th November. * (transitive) To make fun of, to ridicule with wit or innuendo. * 2003, Roy Porter, _Flesh in the Age of Reason_, Penguin 2004, p. 278: Swift and other satirists mercilessly GUYED the unlettered self-importance of the peddlars of such soul-food, exposing their humility and self-laceration as an egregious and obnoxious form of self-advertisement (_s'excuser, c'est s'accuser_). * 2006, Clive James, _North Face of Soho_, Picador 2007, p. 187: Terry Kilmartin [...], applauded for every ‘um’ and ‘ah’, knew that he was being GUYED and had the charm to make it funny.

* gal