Dictionary

priggish en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpɹɪɡɪʃ/

Etymology

Etymology tree English prig Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -isch English -ish English priggish From prig + -ish.

Meanings

1. Like a prig.
   • With the advantage of hindsight, [Jess] Stein may seem priggish. But dictionary editors throughout history would sympathize. Figuring out how to put sex in the dictionary—which terms to include and how to define them—is actually one of the most challenging tasks we face. 2009 October 1, Jesse Sheidlower, “Why it's so hard to put sex in the dictionary.”, in Slate Magazine:
   • Great ancient columns and rich marbles inspired him with respect, apart from their beauty; and this proprietary human esteem for the arts was a good corrective to the priggish aestheticism of my English-speaking artistic friends. 1952 May, George Santayana, “I Like to Be a Stranger”, in The Atlantic:
   • When the Voice of Britain is heard at nine o'clock, better far and infinitely less ludicrous to hear aitches honestly dropped than the present priggish, inflated, inhibited, school-ma'amish arch braying of blameless bashful mewing maidens! 1946, George Orwell, quoting Letter in Tribune, Politics and the English Language:
   • To ride; to dance; she had adored all that. Or going long walks in the country, talking, about books, what to do with one’s life, for young people were amazingly priggish—oh, the things one had said! 1923, Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street:

Forms

Deriveds

unpriggish · priggishness · priggishly

Synonyms

prissy · puritanical · prim · prudish

Translations (8)

nl puriteins (like a prig) · el ηθικολόγος (like a prig) · bg педантичен (like a prig) · ga feimíneach (like a prig) · ga ceartaiseach (like a prig) · nl preuts (like a prig) · ga saoithíneach (like a prig) · fr suffisant (like a prig)