Monday, May 9, 2011

Peevish

Peevish \PEE-vish\ , adjective;
1. Cross, querulous, or fretful, as from vexation or discontent
2. Showing annoyance, irritation, or bad mood
3. Perverse or obstinate

Defined "perverse, capricious, silly," peevish (formerly peyvesshe) dates to the late 14th century and is of uncertain origin. It may be modeled on Latin perversus ("reversed, perverse"), which is the past participle of pervertere ("to turn about"). Pervertere is a combination of per- + vertere ("away" + "to turn"). Vertere ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-Europen *wert- ("to turn, wind") from the base *wer- ("to turn, bend").

Peeve is a back-formation from peevish that dates to 1908. Pet peeve dates to 1919.

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