peevish

English

Etymology

Late 14th century peyvesshe "capricious, silly", perhaps a corruption of Latin perversus "perverted". The meaning "fretful" develops in the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• (American) SAMPA: ["pivIS]
• (American) IPA: /ˈpivɪʃ/, (UK) IPA: /ˈpiːvɪʃ/

Adjective

peevish (comparative more peevish, superlative most peevish)

1. Constantly complaining; fretful, whining.
   • circa 1599, William Shakespeare, King Henry V, act 3, sc. 7:

     Orleans: What a wretched and peevish fellow is this king of England, to mope with his fat-brained followers so far out of his knowledge!

   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, ch. 41:

     [T]he luckless Kitty continued in the parlour repining at her fate in terms as unreasonable as her accent was peevish.

   • 1917, P. G. Wodehouse, "The Mixer" in The Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories:

     At first he was quite peevish. "What's the idea," he said, "coming and spoiling a man's beauty-sleep? Get out."

Derived terms

• peevishly
• peevishness

Translations

constantly complaining

Finnish: mariseva (fi) German: quengelig (de), gereizt (de), verdrossen (de), verdrießlich (de), mürrisch (de) Hungarian: nyűgös (hu), durcás (hu)

Scottish Gaelic: crosta (gd), gruamach (gd), gearanach (gd), dranndanach (gd) Spanish: quejica (es) m., quejicoso (es), alaraco (es), alharaquiento (es)