Mimsier

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Displaying a more affectedly prim, fussy and self-consciously proper manner than something or someone else
2. Showing a stiffer, more fastidiously precious and prissy air than the thing being compared
3. Being more prim and excessively delicate in manner, as if overly concerned with propriety

Etymology: "Mimsier" is the comparative of "mimsy," so it means "more mimsy." The base word is a blend of "miserable" and "flimsy," and the blend itself is the interesting part: two ordinary words were fused, with the sense of wretchedness from one and the sense of weak, insubstantial fragility from the other, into a single word for something both miserable and feeble. Because "mimsy" is an adjective, "mimsier" follows the usual pattern for forming comparatives with "-ier" on a two-syllable base ending in "-y." It is a word of playful coinage rather than an old inherited one, so its meaning rests on the blend's two parents rather than on any older root.

Synonyms: prim, prissy, affected

Antonyms: unaffected