Definition of the word nutty

The word "nutty" traces back to the Middle English word "notte," meaning "nut." The adjective "nutty" originally described something that resembled or contained nuts, like "nutty brown" referring to the color of a nut. Over time, it evolved to describe a person who was eccentric or crazy, perhaps due to the association of nuts with mental instability. This association is likely rooted in the idea of nuts being hard to crack, and thus difficult to understand. So, "nutty" went from a description of a physical characteristic to a term for someone whose behavior was considered "off" or "peculiar."