prissy

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpɹɪsi/ See IPA manual

Freq #30068

Meanings

1

adj
Too concerned with proper behaviour and easily shocked; prim and fussy.

She was too prissy to laugh at the rude joke.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · too concerned with proper... priggish prim prudish puritanicalstrait-laced

Word family

Forms prissierprissiest

Derived forms prissprissilyprissinessprisspotunprissy

Simplified etymology

Prissy arose in the late 19th century as a blend of prim and sissy. Prim itself probably derives, through Provençal prin, “excellent” or “delicate,” from Latin primus, “first.”

Etymology

1895, either an alteration of precise, blend of prim + sissy, or a blend of prim + fussy; first attested in a work of American writer Joel Chandler Harris.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# prissy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɹɪsi/
**Frequency rank:** 30068

## Meanings
1. Too concerned with proper behaviour and easily shocked; prim and fussy.

## Examples
- She was too prissy to laugh at the rude joke.

## Derived Forms
- priss
- prissily
- prissiness
- prisspot
- unprissy

## Etymology
1895, either an alteration of precise, blend of prim + sissy, or a blend of prim + fussy; first attested in a work of American writer Joel Chandler Harris.

## AI Etymology
Prissy is first attested in 1895, either an alteration of precise, blend of prim + sissy, or a blend of prim + fussy; first attested in a work of American writer Joel Chandler Harris. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern form is built from the named base and affix. Current senses include too concerned with proper behaviour and easily shocked; prim and fussy. The wider family includes derived forms such as priss, prissily, prissiness, prisspot, and unprissy.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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