ENGLISH
REFERENCE

percy

n. countable
C2 Proficiency US //ˈpɝsi// per·cy Archaic Humorous Slang Vulgar

n. a slang name for a penis. It is a very informal and slightly funny way to talk about the male body part.

n. a colloquial and often humorous euphemism for the penis. Primarily used in British English and military slang contexts.


SIMPLE

He made a crude joke about his percy.

CONTEXTUAL

The soldiers used various nicknames like 'percy' to add humor to their conversations in the barracks.

COMPLEX

While the term 'percy' might appear in older British comedies as a lighthearted euphemism, it remains a vulgarism that is inappropriate for any professional or formal setting.

Synonyms
Origin

Proper noun proper noun sense 1 (surname) and proper noun sense 3 (place names) are derived from Norman Percy (“a baronial surname”), from Percy-en-Auge (“a place in Pays d’Auge, Normandy, France”, literally “Percy in Auge”), from Old French Perci, from Late Latin Persiacum, from Latin Persius (“a Gallo-Roman nomen gentile”), from Etruscan 𐌐𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (persu); further etymology uncertain, possibly from 𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖 (φersu, “mask”). Proper noun proper noun sense 2 (given name) is either from the above, or is a clipping of Perc(ival) + -y (suffix forming familiar names). The common noun is derived from the proper noun. Noun sense 2 (“penis”) is probably from the fact that Percy and penis begin with the same letter.

Usage

Often used in the phrase 'point percy at the porcelain' to mean urinating.

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