Pernickety — Per*nick et*y, Pernicketty Per*nick et*ty, a. Finical or fussy; full of petty details. [Colloq.] Syn: persnickety. [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
pernickety — 1808, precise, fastidious, extended form of Scot. pernicky, of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from particular … Etymology dictionary
pernickety — persnickety, fastidious, finicky, finicking, finical, *nice, dainty, particular, fussy, squeamish Analogous words: exacting, demanding, requiring (see DEMAND): annoyed, vexed, irked (see ANNOY) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
pernickety — meaning ‘fussy, fastidious’, is a 19c word of Scottish origin which has spread to all English speaking areas. In AmE, the form persnickety is also used … Modern English usage
pernickety — ► ADJECTIVE informal, chiefly Brit. 1) fussy; over fastidious. 2) requiring a precise or careful approach. ORIGIN of unknown origin … English terms dictionary
pernickety — [pər nik′ə tē] adj. var. of PERSNICKETY … English World dictionary
pernickety — [[t]pə(r)nɪ̱kɪti[/t]] ADJ GRADED (disapproval) If you describe someone as pernickety, you think that they pay too much attention to small, unimportant details. [BRIT, INFORMAL] Customs officials can get extremely pernickety about things like that … English dictionary
pernickety — adjective BrE informal 1 worrying too much about small and unimportant things; fussy (1); persnickety (1) AmE 2 difficult to do because you have to deal with a lot of small objects; fiddly (1): Changing this fridge lightbulb is a pernickety job … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
pernickety/persnickety — fussy, critical of details, perfectionistic When Dale was teenager, he was pernickety about his hair … English idioms
pernickety — adjective Etymology: origin unknown Date: circa 1818 chiefly British persnickety … New Collegiate Dictionary
pernickety — pernicketiness, n. /peuhr nik i tee/, adj. persnickety. [1800 10; orig. Scots; of uncert. orig.; the prefix per occurs in a number of other expressive words in Scots, e.g. pergaddus thump, clatter, perskeet fastidious, perjink trim, neat] * * * … Universalium
