peachy

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 (p-a-r-s)bor.

Ancient Greek Πέρσης (Pérsēs)der.

Late Latin Persa

Late Latin persicus

Late Latin persicum

Late Latin persica

Vulgar Latin *pessica

Old French peschebor.

Middle English peche

English peach

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Germanic *-gaz

Proto-West Germanic *-g

Old English -iġ

Middle English -y

English -y

English peachy

From peach + -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpiːt͡ʃi/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːtʃi

Adjective

peachy (comparative peachier, superlative peachiest)

1. Resembling a peach, peach-like.

   peachy cheeks

   Although this is an apricot pie, it tastes peachy.

   • 1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC:

     Young Fledgeby had a peachy cheek, or a cheek compounded of the peach and the red red red wall on which it grows, and was an awkward, sandy-haired, small-eyed youth, exceeding slim (his enemies would have said lanky), and prone to self-examination in the articles of whisker and moustache.

   • 1880, Mark Twain [pseudonym] (Samuel L[anghorne] Clemens), chapter IX, in A Tramp Abroad; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company; London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 88:

     […] she had deep, tender eyes, with long, curved lashes; and she had peachy cheeks, and a dimpled chin, and such a dear little dewy rosebud of a mouth; and she was so dove-like, so pure, and so gracious, so sweet and bewitching.

   • 1886 May, Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC:

     “If I am not well-informed it shall be by no fault of my own,” she would say to herself through the tears that would occasionally glide down her peachy cheeks when she was fairly baffled by the portentous obscurity of many of these educational works.

   • 1914, Eleanor H. Porter, Miss Billy Married‎^[1]:

     “Mercy! If I had a husband whose business it was to look at women's beautiful eyes, peachy cheeks, and luxurious tresses, I should go crazy! […] ”

   • 2016 August 21, Eva Wiseman, “Summer lips with a peachy sheen”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Not quite nude, not quite pink, the peachy sheen is a pretty (and pretty easy) direction for summer.

2. (colloquial) Very good, excellent, typically used sarcastically to indicate a state of misery, resentment or great frustration.

   Oh, life is just peachy now that winter has come, it’s snowing all the time, and I’m freezing my backside off.

   • 2016 November 16, Alex Hern, “Everything's peachy as Apple restores emoji's 'bum' features”, in The Guardian‎^[3], →ISSN:

     Everything's peachy as Apple restores emoji's 'bum' features [title]

Derived terms

• impeachy
• peachily
• peachiness
• peachy keen

Translations

like a peach

• Afrikaans: perskeagtig
• Czech: broskvový (cs)
• German: pfirsichähnlich, pfirsichartig, pfirsichhaft
• Icelandic: perulega
• Swedish: persikolik, persikoaktig, persikoliknande

very good

• Czech: skvělý (cs), báječný (cs)
• Finnish: mahtavaa (fi), ihanaa (fi)
• German: schick (de), toll (de)
• Hebrew: הַכֹּל דְּבַשׁ (hakól dvash)
• Icelandic: mjög (is), vel (is)
• Italian: grandioso (it)
• Swedish: toppen (sv), finemang (sv), finfin (sv)

Anagrams

• cheapy, pechay