tetchy

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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, in turn derived from Old French tache, from proposed Vulgar Latin *tacca, from Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌺𐌽𐍃 (taikns, sign), from proposed Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ-.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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tetchy (comparative tetchier, superlative tetchiest)

  1. Synonym of touchy: easily annoyed or irritated, peevish, testy, irascible; also (figurative) extremely sensitive, difficult to manage, use, or work.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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Anagrams

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