pernickety
/pəˈnɪk.ɪ.ti/ adjective
Forms persnickety
- adjective (chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Fussy; paying undue attention to minor details; fastidious.
- adjective Requiring attention to minor details.
Synonyms
niggly persnickety anal-retentive choosy conscientious dainty exacting fastidious finical finicking finickity finicky finikin fussy hypercritical lily-handed meticulous nitpickish nit-picky nitty
Etymology
From Scots pernickety, persnickety, apparently from per- + nick (“a notch, mark, cutting retort”) + -et (“-ed”) + -y; equivalent to English per- + nick + -ety; literally, “marked up”, then “overly precise”. The alternative form persnickety, with s, may be due to substitution of Scots sneck (“a cut, notch”) for nick.
Compare also Scots variants pernicked, pernicket, pirnicky, and pernicky.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “pernickety”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details