[Ads-l] Antedating of "Loony" (Adjective)

[Shapiro, Fred]

The Oxford English Dictionary revised its entry for the word "loony" in 2023.  The earliest citation for the adjective "loony" is dated 1865.

In 1991, Jane Garry and I published a note in the journal American Speech in which we pointed out that this adjective appears in a story by Herman Melville titled "Bartleby, the Scrivener."  Below is our citation from the original magazine publication of the story:

1853 Putnam's Monthly Magazine Nov. 551

"Ginger Nut," said I, willing to enlist the smallest suffrage in my behalf, "what do you [the word "you" is italicized] think of it?"

"I think, sir, he's a little luny," [the word "luny" is italicized] replied Ginger Nut with a grin.

Fred Shapiro




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