guy

Etymology 1

PIE word *h₁weydʰh₁- Named after Guy Fawkes (1570–1606), an English Catholic executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot, from Old French Gui, a form of Proto-Germanic *Wido, a short form of names beginning with the element witu "wood" from Proto-Germanic *widuz, such as Witold and Widukind. Cognate with Italian Guido.

noun

1. (Britain) An effigy of a man burned on a bonfire on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot (5th November).
2. (dated) A person of eccentric appearance or dress; a "fright".
   “But shan’t I look a guy?” “Not a bit of it. Jist the very kick!” 1845, Henry Cockton, The Love Match, Clark: W.M, page 77
   I am always a perfect guy, whatever I wear, when I sit against a red curtain. You mean say that a woman always knows when she’s good-looking, but I am happy to say I know when I look a guy. 1865, Margaret Oliphant, “Miss Marjoribanks”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume 97, page 316
   Why are you so ashamed that her child saw you looking a guy, sprawled on the floor, spilling cakes? 1978, Jane Gardam, God on the Rocks, Abacus, published 2014, page 138
3. (colloquial) A man or boy, fellow.
   “You don't say so? I thought he was some guy from Pennsylvania.” 1873, ‘Mark Twain’, The Gilded Age
   "Hi, guys. Did you have a fun time at school?" said Katherine. "Yeah we did," said Stacy. 2007, Manook Sarkisyan, Jack and the Journey through Time, page 219
   She was one of the guys, but they were also very much aware that she was an attractive young woman. 2014, Joel Williamson, Elvis Presley: A Southern Life
   Let’s be honest. “Have I kissed too many guys?” is not a question that mature, sexually active women are likely to be asking Google. 9 March 2016, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, The Guardian
4. (especially in the plural) A person (see usage notes).
   My “Guys” actually constitute a collection of people that range from my nearest and dearest girlfriends, my immediate and extended family, co-workers and acquaintances that care. 2009, Carole McCaskill, WHAT COLOR IS MY RIBBON? : An Ovarian Cancer Success Story
   My “guys,” as I call the group, are loving and hilarious, serious and the epitome of love. They are both male and female in their presence and have never had the experience of inhabiting a physical body—they are beings of light. 2010, Meg Blackburn Losey, The Secret History of Consciousness: Ancient Keys to our Future Survival
5. (colloquial, usually referring to animals) character, personality (not referring to an actual person, but assigning personality to the referent)
   The dog's left foreleg was broken, poor little guy.
   I just want to play with my guys. My guys are my friends, they're stuffed animals or little action figures I have a lot of them. 2011, Richard S. Stripp Sr., Mommy, I Wish I Could Tell You What They Did To Me In School Today
6. (informal, term of address) Buster, Mack, fella, bud, man.
   Hey, guy, give a man a break, would ya?
7. (colloquial) Thing, item (term that can be used to refer to any entity)
   This guy, here, controls the current, and this guy, here, measures the voltage.
   This guy is the partial derivative of that guy with respect to x.

verb

1. (intransitive) To exhibit an effigy of Guy Fawkes around the 5th November.
2. (transitive) To make fun of, to ridicule with wit or innuendo.
   The dusky hunters "guyed" the palefaces who could not do as well as they with their primitive weapons, even though the fire spouted from the iron tubes and the balls that could not be seen by the eye carried death farther than did the missiles launched by the natives. 1905, Edward S. Ellis, Deerfoot in The Mountains
   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). 2003, Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason, Penguin, published 2004, page 278
   Terry Kilmartin …, applauded for every ‘um’ and ‘ah’, knew that he was being guyed and had the charm to make it funny. 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador, published 2007, page 187
3. (theater, transitive) To play in a comedic manner.
   To guy the speech in the manner of an old-fashioned 'ham' for cheap laughs.... 2000, John Southworth, Shakespeare the Player

Etymology 2

From Old French guie, linked to verb guier (“guide”), from Frankish *wītan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wītaną (“know”).

noun

1. (obsolete, rare) A guide; a leader or conductor.
2. (chiefly nautical) A support rope or cable used to aid in hoisting or lowering.
3. (chiefly nautical) A support to secure or steady structures prone to shift their position or be carried away (e.g. the mast of a ship or a suspension bridge).

verb

1. To equip with a support cable.