PETTINESS, PETTISH, PETTISHNESS, PETTY
ADJECTIVES
1579 — PALTING petty, trifling, paltry → obs. exc. Eng. dial.
E17.. — PUISNE small, insignificant, petty → obs.
1605 — DORTY spoiled, pettish, sullen, sulky, easily offended, ill-humoured; saucy, haughty, conceited, proud, stubborn; contemptuous → Sc.
1623 — PUSILL small, insignificant, petty → obs.
1674 — SIDY surly, moody, pettish → Eng. dial. obs.
1792 — PIMPING petty, mean → Amer. dial.
1794 — SCABBED mean, paltry, worthless, petty; ill-looking, shabby → Sc. & Eng. dial.
L18.. — FRIGGING insignificant, petty, worthless → sl.
19C.. — KIDLING petty, insignificant → Eng. dial.
19C.. — STRUMMY pettish, sullen → Sc.
1810 — TIFFY pettish, ill-humoured
1813 — PICAYUNE mean, petty → US & Can. colloq.
1825 — STRUNTY short-tempered, easily offended, sulky, out of humour, pettish, huffy → Sc. & Eng. dial.
1834 — PINHOOK petty, small-time → Amer. dial.
M19. — NIGGLING irritatingly petty; intrinsically unimportant but time and energy consuming → sl.
M19. — ONE-PUB insignificant, petty → sl., orig. US
1852 — PICAYUNISH mean, petty → US & Can. colloq.
1855 — TIFFISH ready to take offense; pettish, peevish → colloq.
1865 — MARRED spoiled, petted, over-indulged; pettish, peevish → Eng. dial.
1870 — TWO-BIT of little value or significance; petty, small-time → Amer. dial.
1871 — SNIFTY disdainful, haughty, fault-finding; petty, mean → Amer. sl.
1882 — SANSHACH precise, pettish, peevish → Eng. dial.
1886 — TIN mean, petty, worthless, counterfeit, false
1887 — TWO-BY-FOUR of little value or significance; petty, small-time; small → Amer. dial.
1892 — UPPISH-LIKE pettish, easily provoked; passionate → Eng. dial.
1898 — BANGIE irritable, quarrelsome, pettish → Sc. (Bk.)
20C.. — CHICKEN strictly conventional in conduct; following rules too closely, esp. Army; misusing authority; petty, mean → US sl.
1905 — MARDY spoiled, petted, over-indulged; pettish, peevish → Eng. dial. (Bk.)
1905 — PADDLING trifling, petty; useless → Sc. (Bk.)
1905 — PADGELLING trifling, petty → Eng. dial. (Bk.)
1905 — PAPPANT rendered pettish by indulgence → Sc. (Bk.)
1905 — TIGGY pettish → Sc. (Bk.)
1930 — TANK TOWN insignificant, petty → US sl.
1940 — NICKEL-AND-DIME petty, small-time, insignificant → US sl.
1950 — HENNY fussy, petty, finicky → Amer. dial.
1950 — NIGGLY ill-tempered; obsessed with irrelevancies and petty problems → sl.
1952 — PISS-ANT insignificant, worthless, petty; contemptible → sl.
1960 — NICKEL-DIME small-time, petty, insignificant → US sl.
1971 — PINHOOKISH petty, small-time → Amer. dial.
1971 — PISSY-ANT petty, insignificant, unimportant → Amer. dial.
1990 — NICKEL SLICK petty, insignificant, esp. in the context of attempting to do something beyond one’s abilities → African-American sl.
1995 — CHICKENSHIT petty, insignificant → sl., orig. US
NOUNS
1596 — TITMOUSE a small, petty, or insignificant person or thing
1619 — PUSILLITY littleness, pettiness → obs.
1727 — TIFF a slight outburst or fit of temper, pettishness, or ill-humour
1790 — MIFF a slight quarrel or misunderstanding; a tiff; a fit of ill-humour, pettishness; a huff → Sc. & Eng. dial.
19C.. — STRAMULLION a fit of ill-humour or bad temper; a display of pettishness → Sc.
1865 — NAGGLE pettiness
1905 — SMALL FRY applied to persons or things, and signifying petty, mean, or contemptible → Amer. dial. (Bk.)
1905 — SMALL POTATOES applied to persons or things, and signifying petty, mean, or contemptible → Amer. dial. (Bk.)
1911 — BOGLE-BO a pettish humour → Sc. (Bk.)
NOUNS, PERSON
1579 — TOM THUMB a dwarf or pygmy of popular tradition or fable; hence, a dwarf or diminutive male person; also contemptuously, a petty or insignificant person
1596 — TITMOUSE a small, petty, or insignificant person or thing
1905 — MEG DORTS a pettish young woman → Sc. (Bk.)
1910 — SNITCH a contemptible person; one who is petty or mean
1912 — SARDINE an insignificant or contemptible person; a petty character → Amer. dial. (Bk.)
1932 — CHAPULIN a person of a mean or petty disposition → Amer. dial.
VERBS
1602 — GALL to annoy, to vex, to irritate, to hurt in feeling; to chafe, to fret, to become pettish
1905 — URP to become pettish → Sc. (Bk.)
1930 — NICKEL-AND-DIME IT to act in a petty manner → US sl.
1972 — REARRANGE THE DECK CHAIRS to focus on petty matters while ignoring major problems → US sl.
1972 — REARRANGE THE DECK CHAIRS ON THE TITANIC to focus on petty matters while ignoring major problems → US sl.