Meanings
gaby1
plural gabies · alternative gabey
- UKregionalA stupid, foolish person; a simpleton; a dunce.
I daresay I made a gaby of myself to the world
1860 January–June, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, chapter 1, in Lovel the Widower, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1861, →OCLC3 more examples
His wrath, then, was proportionately violent when he was aware of two boys, who stopped close by him, and one of whom, a fat gaby of a fellow, pointed at him and called him "Young mammy-sick!"
1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days"[Y]ou're a jobbernowl and a doodle, a maundering mooncalf and a blockheaded numps, a gaby and a loon; you're a Hatter!" I shrieked the last epithet.
1902, John Kendrick Bangs, chapter 10, in Olympian Nights"You pair of gabeys!" she exclaimed. "You'll see him before the night's out."
1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 2”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLCSynonyms: guffin, nincompoop, fool
Gaby2
Gaby3
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA stupid, foolish person; a simpleton; a dunce.
Origin
Gaby · proper noun
- FrenchGaby
- EnglishGaby
Borrowed from Southern French Gaby, a hypocoristic form of Gabriel.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gaby
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
gaby. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaby
“gaby.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaby. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gaby,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaby.
Source: gaby on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.