Chivvied

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To be urged or coaxed into action with persistence
2. To be persistently pressured or harassed into doing something
3. To be pushed repeatedly, often implying annoyance or insistence to take a particular course of action

Etymology: The verb "chivvy" grew out of a hunting cry. Its noun form, "chevy" or "chivy," meant a chase or pursuit, and the verb followed as "to chase, to race about." The name most likely comes from the title of a medieval border ballad, "The Ballad of Chevy Chase," which tells of a hunt across the Cheviot Hills, a large stretch of countryside where game was hunted, between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. The ballad is thought to recall the Battle of Otterburn in 1388, but its title gave the English language a word for a hard pursuit. Over the centuries the word lost its physical sense of chasing game and took on a social one. To chivvy someone came to mean harrying them, pressing them again and again until they gave in, often with an edge of irritation on both sides. Chivvied is the past form, so it describes someone who has already been hounded into doing what was wanted.

Synonyms: nagged, harassed, badgered

Antonyms: left alone, ignored