What does "percy" mean?
A male person regarded as unmanly or weak; a sissy; specifically (historical), a male conscientious objector.
Percy
/ˈpɜːsi/ name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A male person regarded as unmanly or weak; a sissy; specifically (historical), a male conscientious objector.
- Grammar: percy is listed as name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: chicken, family name, first name, forename.
- Usage evidence: The English poet Percy Shelley went so far as to call hell a city much like London.
How to use "percy"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "percy" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "percy" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "percy" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "percy" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "percy" is acting as name, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "chicken" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "percy", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A male person regarded as unmanly or weak; a sissy; specifically (historical), a male conscientious objector. also, attributive, derogatory, slang
"The military arm is considerably bothered by the problem of what to do with him [the conscientious objector]. It tacitly invites the rank and file to have a lark with him in barracks, in the hope that if he is bullied and told that he will be shot next morning, and mobbed and pilloried and photographed in The Daily Sketch as Percy (all Percies are now—shade of Hotspur!—supposed to be cowards) he will, perhaps, stop giving trouble."
- 2 A unit of Percocet. slang
"Them percies fuck up my reaction She stuck on me she immune"
- 3 An educated soldier; specifically, an officer. also, attributive, derogatory, slang
"["]I must admit I'm not terribly good at figures." / "Never met an officer as was," said Sam. "Most of the young Percies in our mob had to take their boots off to count up to twenty. But don't worry about that. Aunty'll give you the figures. She's got 'em all in her head, like a bleedin' adding machine. It's her handwriting and spelling that gets everybody down. It's soddin' awful she can't read it herself five minutes after.""
- 4 Chiefly in point Percy at the porcelain: the penis. Australia, UK, humorous, slang
Proper Noun
- 1 An English surname from Old French.
"Hot[spur]. My name is Harry Percy. / Pr[ince]. VVhy then I ſee / A very valiant rebel of that name; / I am the Prince of VVales, and thinke not Percy / To ſhare vvith me in glory any more: / Tvvo ſtars keepe not their motion in one ſphere, / Nor can one England brooke a double raigne / Of Harry Percy and the Prince of VVales."
- 2 A male given name transferred from the surname or from a clipping of Percival, of Middle Ages and later usage.
"Speaking of Sligo, I have written again to ask if I may visit there sometime soon, and talk to the administrator, who it turns out is an old acquaintance, a man called Percival Quinn, I think the only Percy I have heard of in the present era, let alone met. […] [T]here may be other files there that even Percy feels can't be communicated, but I don't know."
- 3 A place name:; A commune in Isère department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.
- 4 A place name:; A village in Manche department, Normandy, France.
- 5 A place name:; A township in Kittson County, Minnesota, United States.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A place name:; An unincorporated community in Washington County, Mississippi, United States.
- 7 A place name:; A village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The English poet Percy Shelley went so far as to call hell a city much like London."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "percy"?
Common synonyms include: chicken, family name, first name, forename, given name, goody goody.
How do you use "percy" in a sentence?
The English poet Percy Shelley went so far as to call hell a city much like London.
How do you pronounce "percy"?
Pronounced /ˈpɜːsi/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Proper noun proper noun sense 1 (surname) and proper noun sense 3 (place names) are derived from Norman Percy (“a baronial surname”), from Percy-en-Auge (“a place in Pays d’Auge, Normandy, France”, literally “Percy in Auge”), from Old French Perci, from Late Latin Persiacum, from Latin Persius (“a Gallo-Roman nomen gentile”), from Etruscan 𐌐𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (persu); further etymology uncertain, possibly from 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (φersu, “mask”). Proper noun proper noun sense 2 (given name) is either from the above, or is a clipping of Perc(ival) + -y (suffix forming familiar names). The common noun is derived from the proper noun. Noun sense 2 (“penis”) is probably from the fact that Percy and penis begin with the same letter.
Etymology 2
Clipping of Percocet + -y.