pursy

[ pur-see ]

/ ˈpɜr si /

adjective, pur·si·er, pur·si·est.

short-winded, especially from corpulence or fatness.

corpulent or fat.

Nearby words

pursue, pursuer, pursuit, pursuit plane, pursuivant, pursy, purtenance, purty, purulence, purulent, purulent inflammation

Origin of pursy

1400–50; late Middle English purcy, variant of Middle English pursif < Anglo-French porsif, variant of Old French polsif, derivative (see -ive) of polser to pant, heave. See push

Related formspur·si·ly, adverbpur·si·ness, noun

Definition for pursy (2 of 2)

pursy

[ pur-see ]

/ ˈpɜr si /

adjective, purs·i·er, purs·i·est.

vain about one's wealth; purse-proud.

Origin of pursy

First recorded in 1545–55; purse + -y¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pursy

The generous living of Dawson had made him pursy, almost porcine.
The Trail of '98|Robert W. Service
They are pursy cherubs, of oleaginous appearance and of this-worldly, rather than of other-worldly paunch and deportment.
The Smugglers|Charles G. Harper
He is fat and pursy, and must have had a good feed last night on some poor dead bullock.
Sport and Work on the Nepaul Frontier|James Inglis
"A traitor to his country, too," said a pursy little man opposite, snapping his jaws shut like a turtle.
The Nest Builder|Beatrice Forbes-Robertson Hale

He would have no such assemblage of the clergy until he should grow fat and pursy and need trouble to keep him in breath, he said.
The Beginners of a Nation|Edward Eggleston.

British Dictionary definitions for pursy

pursy

/ (ˈpɜːsɪ) /

adjective

short-winded

archaic fat; overweight

Word Origin for pursy

C15: alteration of earlier pursive, from Anglo-French porsif, ultimately from Latin pulsāre to pulsate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012