English word origin

Etymology of pursy

From Middle English pursyf (“short of breath, asthmatic”), probably from Old French pousser (“to push; to breathe with difficulty”); see French poussif (“wheezy”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

adj

Out of breath; short of breath, especially due to fatness. · Fat and short.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English pursyf (“short of breath, asthmatic”), probably from Old French pousser (“to push; to breathe with difficulty”); see French poussif (“wheezy”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionpursyfenm
Derivation mentionpousserfro
Unspecified derivation mentionpoussiffr

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
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        "3": "pursyf",
        "4": "",
        "5": "short of breath, asthmatic"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English pursyf (“short of breath, asthmatic”)"
    },
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      "args": {
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        "2": "fro",
        "3": "pousser",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to push; to breathe with difficulty"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French pousser (“to push; to breathe with difficulty”)"
    },
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        "2": "fr",
        "3": "poussif",
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      "poussif",
      "poussif#French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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        "Out of breath; short of breath, especially due to fatness.",
        "Fat and short."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

adj

Puckered. · Purse-proud; vain about one's wealth.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From purse (“pucker”) + -y and purse (“small bag for carrying money”) + -y.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for pursy →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-cHVyc3k