peckish

UK/ˈpɛk.ɪʃ/US/ˈpɛk.ɪʃ/

adjectiveB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,192 of 15,258Too rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Peckish means slightly hungry. Feeling peckish, a bit peckish, getting peckish.

It is British, mild and cheerful — peckish is the hunger that suggests a biscuit rather than a meal, which is exactly why it is useful. It is built on peck, as a bird does, so being peckish is wanting to peck at something. Note that in Australian slang peckish can mean properly hungry.

Definitions of peckish

1adjectivepeckishSlightly hungry.B2+
“I'm feeling a bit peckish; is there anything in the fridge?”

peckish is a mild hunger.

Where it comes from

Peck plus -ish, from the late eighteenth century. The image is a bird pecking at food.

Middle English
pecken
English
peck
English, today
peckish

Built from

pikken · Middle English — to pick, use a pointed implement

From peck + ish. From late 18th century. peck comes from Middle English pecken, pekken, variant of Middle English piken, picken, pikken (“to pick, use a pointed implement”). More at pick.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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