different between pansy vs patsy

English

Etymology

From Middle French pensée (“thought”), as the plant resembles someone that is in deep thought, with a lowered head.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pæn.zi/

Noun

pansy (plural pansies)

1. A cultivated flowering plant, derived by hybridization within species Viola tricolor.
2. A deep purple colour, like that of the pansy.

3. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Junonia. Also called arguses.
4. (derogatory, colloquial) A timid, weak man or boy; a wuss.
5. (derogatory, colloquial, dated) A male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate.

Synonyms

• (male homosexual): friend of Dorothy, omi-palone; see also Thesaurus:male homosexual
• (effeminate man): mama's boy, sissy; see also Thesaurus:effeminate man
• (timid man or boy): mama's boy, nancy boy, sissy; see also Thesaurus:milksop

Translations

Adjective

pansy (not comparable)

1. Wimpy; spineless; feeble.
2. Of a deep purple colour, like that of the pansy.

Derived terms

• wild pansy
• pansified
• pansification

Related terms

• pensive
• poise
• peso

Translations

Verb

pansy (third-person singular simple present pansies, present participle pansying, simple past and past participle pansied)

1. (slang, intransitive, usually with "around" or "about") To mess about; to fail to get things done.

See also

• heartsease
• Johnny-jump-up
• Appendix:Colors

English

Etymology

The term dates back at least to the 1870s in the United States, close to the peak of Irish migration.The OED's recent revisions link Patsy with Pat and Paddy, the stereotype of the bogtrotter just off the boat.The American Heritage Dictionary and Online Etymology Dictionary quotes the OED it may derive from the Italian pazzo (“madman”), and south Italian dialect paccio (“fool”).Another possibility is the term derives from Patsy Bolivar, a character in an 1880s minstrel skit who was blamed whenever anything went wrong, in Broadway musical comedies, for example in The Errand Boy [1904] and Patsy in Politics [1907].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pætsi/
• Rhymes: -ætsi

Noun

patsy (plural patsies)

1. (informal, derogatory) A person who is taken advantage of, especially by being cheated or blamed for something.

Synonyms

• (by being cheated): sucker; see also Thesaurus:dupe
• (by being blamed): scapegoat; see also Thesaurus:scapegoat

Translations

Anagrams

• Tyaps, pasty