Percy
proper nounnouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈpɜːsi//
- United States//ˈpɜɹsi//
An English surname from Old French.
proper noun
- 1
An English surname from Old French.
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.
- 2
A male given name transferred from the surname or from a clipping of Percival, of Middle Ages and later usage.
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.
- 3
A place name: A commune in Isère department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.
- 4
A place name: A village in Manche department, Normandy, France.
- 5
A place name: A township in Kittson County, Minnesota, United States.
- 6
A place name: An unincorporated community in Washington County, Mississippi, United States.
- 7
A place name: A village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States.
Etymology
Proper noun senses 1 (surname) and 3 (place names) are derived from Norman Percy (“a baronial surname”), from Percy-en-Auge (“a place in Pays d’Auge, Normandy, France”, literally “Percy in Auge”), from Old French Perci, from Late Latin Persiacum, from Latin Persius (“a Gallo-Roman nomen gentile”), from Etruscan 𐌐𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (persu); further etymology uncertain, possibly from 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (φersu, “mask”). Proper noun sense 2 (given name) is either from the above, or is a clipping of Perc(ival) + -y (suffix forming familiar names). The common noun is derived from the proper noun. Sense 2 (“penis”) is probably from the fact that Percy and penis begin with the same letter.
noun
- 1
slangA male person regarded as unmanly or weak; a sissy.
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.
- 2
historicalA male conscientious objector.
- 3
slangAn educated soldier; specifically, an officer.
- 4
slangChiefly in point Percy at the porcelain: the penis.
Forms
- plural
- Percies