Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pernickety

/pəˈnɪk.ə.ti/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.46 in modern English

Syllables: per-nick-ety
IPA: /pəˈnɪk.ə.ti/

21

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Fussy; paying undue attention to minor details; fastidious.

British usage

adj

Requiring attention to minor details.

Example Sentences

"‘You must forgive me,’ he said. ‘I take a ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink. It comes partly from being a bachelor, but mostly from a habit of taking a lot of trouble over details. It’s very pernickety and old-maidish really, but then when I’m working I generally have to eat my meals alone and it makes them more interesting when one takes trouble.’"

Etymology

From Scots pernickety, persnickety, apparently from per- + nick (“a notch, mark, cutting retort”) + -et (“-ed”) + -y; equivalent to English per- + nick + -ety; literally, “marked up”, then “overly precise”. The alternative form persnickety, with s, may be due to substitution of Scots sneck (“a cut, notch”) for nick. Compare also Scots variants pernicked, pernicket, pirnicky, and pernicky.

Word Breakdown

Root: pernickety

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /pəˈnɪk.ə.ti/
British English: /pəˈnɪk.ɪ.ti/

Usage

British usage

Inflected Forms

more pernickety (comparative) most pernickety (superlative) persnickety (alternative)

Derived Forms

finickity pernicketily pernicketiness

Synonyms

niggly persnickety anal-retentive choosy conscientious dainty exacting fastidious finical finicking finickity finicky

Rhymes With

rickety finickity

Questions

How do you pronounce pernickety?: The recorded pronunciation is /pəˈnɪk.ə.ti/.
What does pernickety mean?: Fussy; paying undue attention to minor details; fastidious.
Where does pernickety come from?: From Scots pernickety, persnickety, apparently from per- + nick (“a notch, mark, cutting retort”) + -et (“-ed”) + -y; equivalent to English per- + nick + -ety; literally, “marked up”, then “overly precise”. The alternative form persnickety, with s, may be due to substitution of Scots sneck (“a cut, notch”) for nick. Compare also Scots variants pernicked, pernicket, pirnicky, and pernicky.

How to pronounce pernickety

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