different between prissy vs prissiness

English

Etymology

1895, either an alteration of precise, blend of prim +? sissy, or a blend of prim +? fussy; first attested in American writer Joel Chandler Harris.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p??si/
• Rhymes: -?si

Adjective

prissy (comparative prissier, superlative prissiest)

1. Excessively prim, proper, particular or fussy.
   • 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club Cabin Boy[1]

     As Nathanial Mayweather, heir to the Mayweather Hotel fortune, Elliott doesn’t disdain the hoi polloi so much as he considers everyone, even the faculty and headmaster at the prissiest private school in existence, to be part of it.
2. (usually derogatory) Very feminine or dressy.
3. Well-mannered, well-behaved.

Derived terms

• priss

Translations

Noun

prissy (plural prissies)

1. A person who is excessively prim, proper, particular or fussy.

References

• prissy at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology

prissy +? -ness

Noun

prissiness (usually uncountable, plural prissinesses)

1. The state or quality of being excessively prim or proper.

Related terms

• prissily
• prissy