topsy-turvy

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• Received-Pronunciation: /ˌtɒpsɪˈtəːvi/
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• General-American: /ˌtɑpsiˈtɚvi/
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• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• CMU ARPABET: T AA1 P S IY0 T ER1 V IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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The origin of the adverb and adjective are uncertain. Topsy is probably derived from top or tops, though this does not explain the -sy ending; it has been suggested that the latter comes from so (thus, top so) or from top-set or top-side, modified to match the -y ending of turvy. The term topside-turvy is mentioned in the Anglo-Irish writer Laurence Sterne’s novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759–1767).Turvy is probably derived from a rare (scarcely attested) obsolete English word terve, turve (“to be thrown down; to fall; to dash down; to cast, throw; to turn back or down; to fold or roll over”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of; inclined to’), with turve inherited from Middle English terven (“to throw (something) down; to throw (something) into confusion; to level; to resort or turn (to something); to go, move; to turn; to collapse, fall”) [...], perhaps from Old English *tierfan (compare Old English tearflian (“to roll over, wallow”)) or from Old English torfian (“to launch, throw; to shoot missiles at; to stone; to be tossed”), from Proto-Germanic *turbōną (“to fling, hurl”), *turbijaną (“to turn, twist”) (whence Old English ġetyrfian (“to assail with missiles; to assault, attack”)), from Proto-Indo-European *derbh- (“to spin, twist”). Thus, the term as a whole may literally mean “having the top side thrown or turned down”. The noun and verb are probably derived from the adverb and adjective.

62 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Danish: på hovedet — backwards or upside down
• Dutch: achterstevoren — backwards or upside down
• Dutch: ondersteboven — backwards or upside down
• Finnish: nurinkurinen — backwards or upside down
• Finnish: takaperoinen — backwards or upside down
• French: à l'envers — backwards or upside down
• French: sens dessus dessous — backwards or upside down
• Galician: ao revés — backwards or upside down
• German: auf den Kopf gestellt — backwards or upside down
• German: kopfstehend — backwards or upside down
• Haitian Creole: tèt anba — backwards or upside down
• Italian: sottosopra — backwards or upside down
• Norwegian Bokmål: omkalfatret — backwards or upside down
• Scots: tapsalteerie — backwards or upside down
• Scottish Gaelic: turrach-air-tharrach — backwards or upside down
• Slovak: hore nohami — backwards or upside down
• Slovak: naopak — backwards or upside down
• Spanish: al revés — backwards or upside down
• Tamil: மேலும் கீழும் (mēlum kīḻum) — backwards or upside down
• Danish: kaotisk — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Dutch: chaotisch — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Dutch: wanordelijk — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Finnish: sekava — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Finnish: sotkuinen — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• French: sens dessus dessous — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• German: chaotisch — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• German: unordentlich — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Hindi: उल्टा-पुल्टा (ulṭā-pulṭā) — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Italian: sottosopra — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Māori: kaumingomingo — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Māori: kōhangaweka — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Māori: tīraurau — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Scottish Gaelic: rù-rà — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Slovak: domotaný — chaotic, disorderly — see also chaotic, disorderly, disordered
• Bulgarian: с главата надолу (s glavata nadolu) — backwards or upside down
• Finnish: nurin niskoin — backwards or upside down
• Finnish: nurin perin — backwards or upside down
• Finnish: takaperin — backwards or upside down
• Finnish: ylösalaisin — backwards or upside down
• Italian: bilo-balo — backwards or upside down
• Italian: sotto-sopra — backwards or upside down
• Portuguese: de ponta-cabeça — backwards or upside down
• Russian: вверх дно́м (vverx dnóm) — backwards or upside down
• Scottish Gaelic: bun-os-cionn — backwards or upside down
• Turkish: altüst — backwards or upside down
• Bulgarian: в безпорядък (v bezporjadǎk) — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Finnish: hujan hajan — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Finnish: mullin mallin — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Finnish: sekaisin — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Finnish: sikin sokin — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Finnish: vinksin vonksin — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Finnish: heikun keikun — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• German: chaotisch — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• German: unordentlich — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Greek: άρτζι μπούρτζι και λουλάς (ártzi boúrtzi kai loulás) — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Greek: φύρδην μίγδην (fýrdin mígdin) — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Greek: άνω κάτω (áno káto) — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Hindi: उल्टा-पुल्टा (ulṭā-pulṭā) — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Russian: кувырко́м (kuvyrkóm) — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Russian: ши́ворот-навы́ворот (šívorot-navývorot) — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Spanish: patas arriba — not in the natural order of things; in a disorderly manner — see also chaotically, disorderedly
• Bulgarian: безпорядък (bezporjadǎk) — situation where the natural order of things has been upset