sissy

Etymology

It is formed from English sis + -y,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} a pet form of sister in which sis is a short form of that word.^[8][9][10] The OED suggests that the adjective was perhaps also influenced by the adjective-forming -y.^[2] Klein and the Shorter Oxford compare prissy.^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

One's sister, often as a term of endearment: 1757, in David Garrick's Lilliput.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to 1768, and Merriam-Webster and Barnhart to 1846.^[10][3][8]

Semantic evolution

A pet name for a sister since the 18th century,^[9][2] the word came to be used in the United States in the late 19th century for an effeminate or cowardly boy or man.^[9][8][2] Green's Dictionary of Slang finds this sense in 1877, and in 1879 the boys of Concord called the young Julian Hawthorne, who wore long curls, Sissy;^[11] the OED's first record is from 1879,^[2] Etymonline's from 1873, and Barnhart's from 1887.^[10][8] The adjective followed: 1879 in the OED, 1882 in Green, and 1891 in Barnhart and Etymonline.^{[2][11][8][10]} Sissyish is recorded from 1880 and sissified from 1905.^[10][8] A sissy bar, the metal loop behind the seat of a bicycle or motorcycle, is named from 1969.^[10][5] Merriam-Webster also records a weaker sense, a timid or cowardly person.^[3]

Timeline

• 1757 – a sister, often as a pet name.^[2]
• 1877 – an effeminate or weak boy or man.^[11][2]
• 1879 – adjective, effeminate or unmanly.^[2][11]
• 1880 – sissyish.^[10]
• 1905 – sissified.^[8]
• 1969 – sissy bar.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (disparaging) A boy or man thought to lack manliness; an effeminate person.^[12][3][2]
2. A timid or cowardly person: Don't be a sissy, the water isn't cold.^[3][12][5]
3. A sister, especially as a pet name.^[3][2][5]

Adjective

1. (disparaging) Effeminate or cowardly; thought suitable only for a sissy.^[12][3][2]

Word family

• sissiness
• sissyish
• sissified

Related words

• sis
• sister

Usage notes

The word is also spelled cissy, especially in British use.^[12][5]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins