name
Percy
PUR-see
name
1
A male given name, either transferred from the English surname or a shortened form of Percival.
"His full name was Percival, but everyone called him Percy."
noun
1
An old-fashioned, dismissive term for a man seen as weak or effeminate.
"The other soldiers mocked him as a bit of a percy."
2
Older British slang for a conscientious objector.
How to Use Percy
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMainly a British male name; also old slang for an unmanly man.
Word Forms
Percies plural, percies plural
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Etymology
The surname traces to a Norman place name, Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. As slang for "weak man," it likely comes simply from the two words sharing the same first letter.