Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “peely-wally” come from?

peely-wally (English) comes from Scots peely-wally, from Scots peelie — thin, emaciated, sickly.

peely-wally (English): Pale, pasty; off-color or ill-looking

Definitions

  1. Pale, pasty; off-color or ill-looking

Ancestry of “peely-wally”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Scotspeely-wallypeely-wally, sickly, pasty
2Scotspeeliethin, emaciated, sickly
Every word from Scots peelie →