The Dictionary Definition:
If there are so many meanings associated with the word, what does it exactly mean? According to the Oxford English Dictionary(OED), the origin of the word traces back to the root word “craze,” which means “to break in pieces” as a verb and “a crack” as a noun (Oxford University Press 2013). In 1576, the word was first used to describe a “defect” in a subject or in its health condition. In 1700, it was also used to describe a state of bankruptcy. From the late 1700s, the word was used to describe something of “unsound mind” or to exaggerate a situation in widely used phrases such as “to go crazy” or “to be crazy about or for a person.”
Today, the OED shows that the word “crazy” comes in two parts of speech: adjective and noun. As an adjective, it is used to describe an object as “full of cracks or flaws” or a person as “having the bodily health or constitution impaired.” The OED also provides an informal meaning of the word, in which it could be used to mean “extremely” or “mad” in a slang or “a mad or eccentric person” in colloquial language.
Today, the OED shows that the word “crazy” comes in two parts of speech: adjective and noun. As an adjective, it is used to describe an object as “full of cracks or flaws” or a person as “having the bodily health or constitution impaired.” The OED also provides an informal meaning of the word, in which it could be used to mean “extremely” or “mad” in a slang or “a mad or eccentric person” in colloquial language.