Patsy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Patsy | |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | PAT-see |
| Gender | Female; sometimes Male |
| Meaning | "Noble" (i.e. a patrician) |
| Region of Origin | north England, Scotland, & Ireland |
| Origin | Latin Patricius |
| Related names | Patricia (fem), Patrick (masc) |
| Wikipedia articles | All pages beginning with Patsy |
Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" or "Pet" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, or Patrice).
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[edit] Historical usage
In older usage Patsy was also a nickname for Martha or Matilda, following a common nicknaming pattern of changing an M to a P (such as in Margaret → Meg/Meggy → Peg/Peggy; and Molly → Polly) and adding a feminine suffix.[1][2]
While usually a feminine diminutive name, from the 18th Century Patsy also came to be used as a nickname for men and boys called Patrick.[3]
It is thought that the popularity of the name may have waned due to the dictionary meanings of the word "patsy" being "dupe" or "scapegoat".[4]
[edit] Notable people with the given name
- Patsy Biscoe, Australian singer and performer on children's television shows in the 1960s and 1970s
- Patrick A. "Patsy" Brown (1872-1958), Irish-American maker of the uilleann pipes
- Patsy Burt (1928-2001), British motor racing driver
- Elias Henry "Patsy" Hendren (1889-1962), British cricketer
- Patsy Cline (1932-1963), American country & pop music singer
- Patsy Kensit (born 1968), British actress and singer
- Patsy Mink (1927-2002), American politician, appointed an Assistant Secretary of State by President Jimmy Carter
- Patsy Montana (1908-1996), American country & western music singer.
- Patsy O’Connell Sherman (born 1930), American chemist, co-inventor of Scotchgard in 1952
- Patsy Rowlands (1934-2005), British actress in Carry On films
- Patsy O'Hara, an Irish Republican hunger striker and member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).
[edit] Fictional
- Patsy (Monty Python), a character in the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and also the 2005 Monty Python inspired musical Spamalot.
- Patsy Smiles, an upbeat and chipper mongoose who has a crush on Lazlo in the 2005-- American animated television series Camp Lazlo.
- Patsy Stone, one of the main characters in the 1992–-2005 British television series Absolutely Fabulous, played by Joanna Lumley.
- Patsy Walker, also known as "Hellcat", a superhero character published by Marvel Comics.
- Patsy Sewer, a singer of the Canadian television program Instant Star.
[edit] References
- ^ Edgar's Name Pages, accessed 16 November 2007.
- ^ Common Nicknames & Their Given Name Equivalents, accessed 16 November 2007.
- ^ Edgar's Name Pages, accessed 16 November 2007.
- ^ Edgar's Name Pages, accessed 16 November 2007.
[edit] External links
- Behind The Name
- Etymology Online (Patsy). See also
With regard to the use of the term, "patsy" to mean "scapegoat," the usage comes from the early 20th Century vaudevillian, Billy B. Van, whose character, Patsy Bolivar, was more often than not an innocent victim of unscrupulous or nefarious characters.
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