Pronunciations (2)
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/ˈpɜːsi/
Pronunciation notes
- Received-Pronunciation
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/ˈpɜɹsi/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
Proper noun
An English surname from Old French.
- Examples
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More examples (1)
Hot[spur]. My name is Harry Percy. / Pr[ince]. VVhy then I ſee / A very valiant rebel of that name; / I am the Prince of VVales, and thinke not Percy / To ſhare vvith me in glory any more: / Tvvo ſtars keepe not their motion in one ſphere, / Nor can one England brooke a double raigne / Of Harry Percy and the Prince of VVales.
A male given name transferred from the surname or from a clipping of Percival, of Middle Ages and later usage.
- Examples
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More examples (1)
Speaking of Sligo, I have written again to ask if I may visit there sometime soon, and talk to the administrator, who it turns out is an old acquaintance, a man called Percival Quinn, I think the only Percy I have heard of in the present era, let alone met. […] [T]here may be other files there that even Percy feels can't be communicated, but I don't know.
A place name: A commune in Isère department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.
A place name: A village in Manche department, Normandy, France.
A place name: A township in Kittson County, Minnesota, United States.
A place name: An unincorporated community in Washington County, Mississippi, United States.
A place name: A village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States.
Noun
A male person regarded as unmanly or weak; a sissy.
Usage- also
- attributive
- Derogatory
- Slang
- Examples
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More examples (2)
The military arm is considerably bothered by the problem of what to do with him [the conscientious objector]. It tacitly invites the rank and file to have a lark with him in barracks, in the hope that if he is bullied and told that he will be shot next morning, and mobbed and pilloried and photographed in The Daily Sketch as Percy (all Percies are now—shade of Hotspur!—supposed to be cowards) he will, perhaps, stop giving trouble.
He never palliated his villainy, never helped old ladies across the street to show that he was a sweet kid au fond or prated about his Oedipus complex like the Percy boys who portray heavies today.
A male conscientious objector.
Usage- also
- attributive
- Derogatory
- Historical
- Slang
An educated soldier; specifically, an officer.
Usage- also
- attributive
- Derogatory
- Slang
- Examples
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More examples (1)
["]I must admit I'm not terribly good at figures." / "Never met an officer as was," said Sam. "Most of the young Percies in our mob had to take their boots off to count up to twenty. But don't worry about that. Aunty'll give you the figures. She's got 'em all in her head, like a bleedin' adding machine. It's her handwriting and spelling that gets everybody down. It's soddin' awful she can't read it herself five minutes after."
Chiefly in point Percy at the porcelain: the penis.
Usage- Australia
- UK usage
- Humorous
- Slang