Silly is the German selig (blessed)
, whence the infant Jesus is termed “the harmless silly babe,” and sheep are called “silly,” meaning harmless or innocent. As the “holy” are easily taken in by worldly ounning, the word came to signify “gullible,” “foolish,” (See Simplicity.)
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Entry taken from
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,
edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.