tetchy

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈtɛt͡ʃi/ See IPA manual

adj Freq #66271

Meanings

1

adj
Easily annoyed or irritated; bad-tempered.

He gets tetchy when he hasn't had enough sleep.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · easily annoyed or... touchy nettlesome

Word family

Forms tetchier

Etymology

Uncertain, first attested as teachie in the 1597 first quarto versions of Romeo and Juliet and Richard III. Perhaps coined by Shakespeare. Also variously derived from English tetch (“tantrum, fit of anger”); from Scots tache (“blotch, fault”); from Middle English tatch (“blemish”) &c. under influence from touchy.

tache sco tatch Middle English

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Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# tetchy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈtɛt͡ʃi
**Frequency rank:** 66271

## Meanings
1. Easily annoyed or irritated; bad-tempered.

## Examples
- He gets tetchy when he hasn't had enough sleep.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tache
- Root: tatch

## Etymology
Uncertain, first attested as teachie in the 1597 first quarto versions of Romeo and Juliet and Richard III. Perhaps coined by Shakespeare. Also variously derived from English tetch (“tantrum, fit of anger”); from Scots tache (“blotch, fault”); from Middle English tatch (“blemish”) &c. under influence from touchy.

## AI Etymology
Tetchy uncertain, first attested as teachie in the 1597 first quarto versions of Romeo and Juliet and Richard III. Perhaps coined by Shakespeare. Also variously derived from English tetch (“tantrum, fit of anger”); from Scots tache (“blotch, fault”); from Middle English tatch (“blemish”) &c. under influence from touchy. Important recorded forms include tache (sco) and tatch (Middle English). Current senses include easily annoyed or irritated; bad-tempered.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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