Peerie
(Peer"ie, Peer"y) a. [See 1st Peer, 2.] Inquisitive; suspicious; sharp. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] "Two
peery gray eyes." Sir W. Scott.
Peerless
(Peer"less) a. Having no peer or equal; matchless; superlative. "Her peerless feature." Shak.
Unvailed her peerless light.
Milton. —Peer"less*ly, adv. — Peer"less*ness, n.
Peert
(Peert) a. Same as Peart.
Peerweet
(Peer"weet) n. Same as Pewit
Peevish
(Pee"vish) a. [OE. pevische; of uncertain origin, perh. from a word imitative of the noise made
by fretful children + -ish.]
1. Habitually fretful; easily vexed or fretted; hard to please; apt to complain; querulous; petulant. "Her peevish
babe." Wordsworth.
She is peevish, sullen, froward.
Shak. 2. Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable dissatisfaction; as, a peevish answer.
3. Silly; childish; trifling. [Obs.]
To send such peevish tokens to a king.
Shak. Syn. — Querulous; petulant; cross; ill-tempered; testy; captious; discontented. See Fretful.
Peevishly
(Pee"vish*ly), adv. In a peevish manner. Shak.
Peevishness
(Pee"vish*ness), n. The quality of being peevish; disposition to murmur; sourness of temper.
Syn. — See Petulance.
Peevit
(Pee"vit Pee"wit) n. (Zoöl.) See Pewit.
Peg
(Peg) n. [OE. pegge; cf. Sw. pigg, Dan. pig a point, prickle, and E. peak.]
1. A small, pointed piece of wood, used in fastening boards together, in attaching the soles of boots or
shoes, etc.; as, a shoe peg.
2. A wooden pin, or nail, on which to hang things, as coats, etc. Hence, colloquially and figuratively: A
support; a reason; a pretext; as, a peg to hang a claim upon.
3. One of the pins of a musical instrument, on which the strings are strained. Shak.
4. One of the pins used for marking points on a cribbage board.
5. A step; a degree; esp. in the slang phrase "To take one down peg."
To screw papal authority to the highest peg.
Barrow.
And took your grandess down a peg.
Hudibras. Peg ladder,
a ladder with but one standard, into which cross pieces are inserted. — Peg tankard, an
ancient tankard marked with pegs, so as divide the liquor into equal portions. "Drink down to your peg."