TOPSY-TURVY


Meaning of TOPSY-TURVY in English

I. adverb

also top·sy-tur·vey -vē, -vi

Etymology: earlier topsy-tirvy, topsy-tervy, probably from tops (plural of top ) (I) + -y (diminutive suffix) + obsolete English tirve, terve to turn, turn upside down (from Middle English terven, probably from — assumed — Old English tierfan ) + English -y (diminutive suffix); akin to Old English tearflian to turn, roll — more at tirl

1. : in an inverted posture : with the top or head downward : upside down

fall topsy-turvy

2. : in a state where proper or normal places, values, standards, objects, or facts are reversed

the lives of two families are turned topsy-turvy — Evangeline Davis

II. adjective

( sometimes -er/-est )

: turned topsy-turvy : totally disordered : reversed

interprets the … licensing regulations to suit its own topsy-turvy hours of labor — Dorothy Sayers

III. transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-es )

: to turn or make topsy-turvy

make in places the order of sedimentation a topsy-turvied sequence — W.E.Swinton

IV. noun

( -es )

: topsy-turviness

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.