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Definition of pesky - 3 dictionary results

pes⋅ky

  [pes-kee]
Use pesky in a Sentence
–adjective, -ki⋅er, -ki⋅est. Informal.
annoyingly troublesome: bothered by a pesky fly.
Origin:
1765–75; alter. of pesty ( pest + -y 1 )

Related forms:
pesk⋅i⋅ly, adverb
pesk⋅i⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
vexatious, irksome, bothersome, pestiferous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pesky
pes·ky   (pěs'kē)   
adj.   pes·ki·er, pes·ki·est Informal
Troublesome; annoying: a pesky mosquito.

[Probably alteration of pest.]
pes'ki·ly adv., pes'ki·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

pesky 
1775, originally in New England dialect, perhaps a dial. formation from pest (cf. plaguy "confounded, annoying, disagreeable"). Partridge suggests an origin in Essex dialect.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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