guy

the word "guy" originates from the name of guy fawkes, a central figure in the gunpowder plot to blow up the english parliament in 1605. following the plot's discovery, the effigies of fawkes burned in annual celebrations became known as "guys." by the 19th century, the term generalized to mean a person of odd or grotesque appearance. from there, it further broadened in american english during the 20th century to become a casual, neutral term for any man, and in its plural form, for any group of people. the verb form, meaning to mock or ridicule, derives from the tradition of mocking the effigy.

this word is a simplex. it is a loanword/proper noun that entered common usage without further analyzable morphemes in modern english.