prissy

[pris-ee] /ˈprɪs i/

adjective, prissier, prissiest.

excessively proper; affectedly correct; prim.

Origin

1890-95, Americanism; blend of prim¹ and sissy

Related forms

prissily, adverb

prissiness, noun

Examples from the web for prissy

But what was prissy to the hip may become as it were a new context.
It sounds too prissy for something as tough as the saddles he has made.
At once suave and stuffy, he speaks in a phony, pseudo-academic voice that's slightly prissy and determinedly above it all.

British Dictionary definitions for prissy

prissy

/ˈprɪsɪ/

adjective -sier, -siest

fussy and prim, esp in a prudish way

Derived Forms

prissily, adverb
prissiness, noun

Word Origin

C20: probably from prim + sissy

Word Origin and History for prissy

adj.

1895, probably Southern U.S. dialect, first attested in Joel Chandler Harris, perhaps an alteration of precise (q.v.), or a merger of prim and sissy [OED]. Related: Prissily; prissiness.

["]Then Mrs Blue Hen rumpled up her feathers and got mad with herself, and went to setting. I reckon that's what you call it. I've heard some call it 'setting' and others 'sitting.' Once, when I was courting, I spoke of a sitting hen, but the young lady said I was too prissy for anything."
"What is prissy?" asked Sweetest Susan.
Mr. Rabbit shut his eyes and scratched his ear. Then he shook his head slowly.
"It's nothing but a girl's word," remarked Mrs. Meadows by way of explanation. "It means that somebody's trying hard to show off."
"I reckon that's so," said Mr. Rabbit, opening his eyes. He appeared to be much relieved.
[Joel Chandler Harris, "Mr. Rabbit at Home"]

Slang definitions & phrases for prissy

prissy

adjective

Overfastidious; primly censorious: He hasa prissy distaste for heavy shoes (1895+)

noun

: these dogooding prissies

[origin uncertain; perhaps a blend of prim or precise with sissy]