Etymologically
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missy

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is formed from English miss + -y,[2][3][4][5][6] as a playful or diminutive form of the noun for a young girl.[7][2] The noun has the diminutive suffix; the adjective takes the adjective-forming suffix of the same spelling.[2][3][4] Miss in this sense began in the 17th century as a shortening of mistress.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A form of address or reference for a young girl: 1676, in a letter printed in a report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, "A coach fitt for pretty Missee is not to be found ready made".[2][8] Etymonline dates the word to the 1670s,[7] and Dictionary.com to 1670–80.[6]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the word was at first used chiefly by servants,[7] and Green's Dictionary of Slang that it was sometimes disparaging.[8] The OED describes it as affectionate, playful or occasionally contemptuous,[2] and Chambers as usually disparaging, said to a little girl.[9] The adjective, meaning missish, prim and affected like a young girl, is recorded from 1805;[2][3] the Shorter Oxford marks it as usually derogatory.[3] American slang later applied the noun to an underage boy (1972) and to cocaine (1997).[8]

Timeline

  • 1676 – noun, a young girl, as a form of address.[2][8][4]
  • 1805 – adjective, missish.[2]
  • 1972 – American gay slang, an underage boy.[8]
  • 1997 – American drug slang, cocaine.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (informal) A familiar, sometimes disparaging form of address for a young girl or woman: Now listen to me, missy.[10][4][2][9]

Adjective

  1. Like a young girl; missish or prim.[4][3][9]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d e f Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  9. ^ a b c The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt