Mimsy

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Excessively prim, dainty, or precious in manner ; flimsy, feeble, or miserable in condition
2. Affectedly proper and fussy in behavior ; weak, frail, or pitifully poor in quality
3. Stiffly prudish and precious in bearing ; flimsy and wretched, as something badly made

Etymology: "Mimsy" is a blend of "miserable" and "flimsy," two words that have nothing to do with prissiness, which makes its current sense of being prim or over-careful all the more striking. Blends of this kind fuse the front of one word with the back of another, so the result looks like a single word while carrying traces of both parents. Here the "mis-" of "miserable" and the "-sy" of "flimsy" combine to suggest something feeble, fussy and easily put out. The word's most famous appearance is in Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky," where "mimsy" describes the "borogoves." That nonsense poem gave the word its literary fame, and it is through that association that many readers meet it. Its meaning as an adjective, describing someone over-proper or fussy in manner, follows naturally from the sense of feebleness and prissy delicacy built into its parts.

Synonyms: prim, prissy, prudish

Antonyms: unaffected, casual