Etymology

crazy

cra·zy
C3R1A1Z10Y4

Today it means: Of unsound mind; insane; demented. Full definition →

First used 17th c.
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The story

From craze (“to crush”) + -y, akin to being "crazed up". Compare cracked up (“suffered a mental breakdown; be insane”), crackpot. Compare typologically Russian чо́кнутый (čóknutyj).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. Of unsound mind; insane; demented.
  • 16th–19th c. Flawed or damaged; unsound, liable to break apart; ramshackle.
  • 16th–19th c. Sickly, frail; diseased.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.