nosy

Etymology

It is formed from English nose + -y, also spelled “nosey”.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} For the noun senses, a nickname for a person with a large nose and, in Scotland, a look, the OED also compares the diminutive form of the suffix.^[2] An earlier, independent word with the sense "having a big nose" was Middle English nasee, recorded before 1338 in Mannyng's “Chronicle” (in fact used ironically of someone whose nose was missing or mutilated),^[3] which came through Anglo-Norman from Old French nasé, ultimately from Latin nāsus (“nose”).^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having a prominent nose: 1620, in Thomas Shelton's translation of Cervantes's Don Quixote.^[2][3] Etymonline dates the word to the 1610s.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense "big-nosed" was rare and was last recorded in 1864.^[2] The sense "inquisitive, prying", from the figurative idea of poking one's nose into things, is first recorded in 1827 in the OED,^[2] in 1828 in Merriam-Webster,^[6] and only in 1882 in Barnhart and Etymonline.^[3][4] In the 19th century the word was also tried for things with a strong smell, either bad (1836) or, of tea, fragrant (1892), and once (1894) for someone sensitive to bad smells;^[2][5] Merriam-Webster keeps the smell senses as archaic.^[6] As a noun, Nosey was a nickname for a big-nosed person from 1788, above all Old Nosey, the Duke of Wellington,^[2] and since 1931 it has also named a prying person.^[2] The phrase Nosey Parker for an inquisitive person dates from about 1890.^[4][7]

Timeline

• 1620 – having a prominent nose (obsolete after 1864).^[2][3]
• 1788 – noun, a nickname for a person with a large nose, especially the Duke of Wellington.^[2]
• 1827 – inquisitive, prying.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates the sense to 1828, Barnhart and Etymonline to 1882.^[6][3][4]
• 1836 – evil-smelling (obsolete after 1867).^[2]
• 1890 – Nosey Parker, an inquisitive person, in the Belgravia Magazine.^[7][8]
• 1892 – fragrant.^[2]
• 1931 – noun, a prying person.^[2]
• 1990 – noun, chiefly Scottish, a look.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Too curious about other people's affairs; prying, inquisitive: Their nosy landlord kept asking where they had been.^[9][6][2]
2. (rare) Having a strong smell, whether bad or fragrant.^[5][6][10]
3. (obsolete, 1620–1864) Having a large nose.^[2][5]

Noun

1. (colloquial) A prying person; a busybody.^[2][10]
2. (colloquial) A look around: We had a nosy round the empty shop.^[2][10]

Word family

• nosily
• nosiness

Related words

• nose
• nosy parker

Usage notes

The spelling nosey is a common variant.^[9][6][3] A popular story links nosy parker to Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 to 1575, known for his inquiries into his clergy, but the phrase is not found before 1890, centuries after his death.^[7][8] Its origin is unknown.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Martin, Gary, The Phrase Finder: Meaning and Origin of Phrases, Sayings, Clichés and Quotes, https://www.phrases.org.uk
8. ^ a b c O'Conner, Patricia T.; Kellerman, Stewart, The Grammarphobia Blog, grammarphobia.com, p. "Who was the first nosy parker?", 18 October 2012
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b c Deverson, Tony; Kennedy, Graeme, eds. (2005), The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary, Auckland: Oxford University Press