Patsy
Encyclopedia
Patsy is a given name
often used as a diminutive
of the feminine given name
Patricia
or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" or "Pet" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, or Patrice).
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.
The popularity of the name has waned with the rise of its meaning as "dupe" or "scapegoat
". This 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.
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
often used as a diminutive
Diminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
of the feminine given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
Patricia
Patricia (disambiguation)
Patricia is a common given name. It may also refer to:* Patricia , a song written by Benny Davis, recorded by Perry Como* Princess Patricia of Connaught, a member of the British Royal Family and granddaughter of Queen Victoria...
or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" or "Pet" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, or Patrice).
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.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.
The popularity of the name has waned with the rise of its meaning as "dupe" or "scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
". This usage comes from the early 20th Century vaudevillian
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
Billy B. Van
Billy B. Van
Billy B. Van was a prominent entertainer in the early decades of the 1900s. He was a star, progressively, in minstrel shows, vaudeville, burlesque, the New York stage, and movies. At the same time under another name he was a well known dairy farmer and agriculturist. And, at the same time he was...
, whose character, Patsy Bolivar, was more often than not an innocent victim of unscrupulous or nefarious characters.
Notable people with the given name
- Patsy BiscoePatsy BiscoePatsy Biscoe is an Australian singer, notable for her television appearances on children's television shows, Here's Humphrey and Fat Cat and Friends...
, Australian singer and performer on children's television shows in the 1960s and 1970s - Patrick A. "Patsy" BrownPatsy BrownPatrick A. 'Patsy' Brown was an Irish-American maker of the uilleann pipes. Originally from Killorglin, Co. Kerry, Ireland, he emigrated to the United States in 1892, making his home first in Chicago and then the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He may have made a living as a...
(1872-1958), Irish-American maker of the uilleann pipesUilleann pipesThe uilleann pipes or //; ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland, their current name, earlier known in English as "union pipes", is a part translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann , from their method of inflation.The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a... - Patsy BurtPatsy BurtPatricia Mary "Patsy" Burt was a British motor racing driver.During a long and varied career, Patsy Burt won many British national-level competitions, and was the first female driver ever to win both the Brighton Speed Trials and the RAC National Sprint Championship...
(1928-2001), British motor racing driver - Patsy ClinePatsy ClinePatsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
(1932-1963), American country & pop music singer - Patsy DiNuzzo, Wheelock College Basketball Captain (2007-2011).
- Elias Henry "Patsy" HendrenPatsy HendrenElias Henry Hendren better known as Patsy Hendren was an English cricketer. Patsy was one of the most prolific English batsmen of the period between the wars, averaging 47.63 in his 51 Test matches...
(1889-1962), British cricketer - Patsy KensitPatsy KensitPatricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
(born 1968), British actress and singer - Patsy Mateo (died 1979), Filipino actress and comedienne, co-host of the variety show, Tawag ng Tanghalan
- Patsy MinkPatsy MinkPatsy Matsu Takemoto Mink was an American politician from the U.S. state of Hawaii. Mink was a third generation Japanese American and member of the Democratic Party. She also was the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.Mink served in the U.S...
(1927-2002), American politician, appointed an Assistant Secretary of StateAssistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific AffairsThe Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs in the United States Department of State...
by President Jimmy Carter - Patsy MontanaPatsy MontanaRuby Rose Blevins , known professionally as Patsy Montana, was an American country music singer-songwriter and the first female country performer to have a million-selling single...
(1908-1996), American country & western music singer. - Patsy O’Connell Sherman (1930-2008), American chemist, co-inventor of ScotchgardScotchgardScotchgard is a 3M brand of products used to protect fabric, furniture, and carpets from stains.The original formula for Scotchgard was discovered accidentally in 1952 by 3M chemists Patsy Sherman and Samuel Smith...
in 1952 - Patsy O'HaraPatsy O'HaraPatsy O'Hara was an Irish republican hunger striker and member of the Irish National Liberation Army .He was born in Bishop Street, Derry, Northern Ireland. O'Hara joined Na Fianna Éireann in 1970, and in 1971 his brother Sean was interned in Long Kesh. In late 1971, he was shot and wounded by a...
, an Irish Republican hunger striker and member of the Irish National Liberation ArmyIrish National Liberation ArmyThe Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
(INLA). - Patsy PalmerPatsy PalmerPatsy Palmer is an English actress. Palmer made an early television appearance on the children's drama show Grange Hill, but is best known for playing Bianca Jackson in the popular British television soap opera EastEnders. Originally in the cast from 1993–1999, Palmer returned to EastEnders in...
, Eastenders Actress - Patsy RowlandsPatsy RowlandsPatsy Rowlands was an English actress who is best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, as Betty in the popular ITV Thames sitcom Bless This House, and as Alice Meredith in the Yorkshire Television sitcom Hallelujah!.-Early years:She was born in Palmers Green, London and attended a...
(1934-2005), British actress in Carry On films - Patsy RamseyPatsy RamseyPatricia Ann "Patsy" Ramsey was the mother of JonBenét Ramsey, a 6-year-old American beauty pageant contestant who was murdered on December 25, 1996.-Background:...
, (1956-2006) mother of slain child beauty queen, JonBenet RamseyJonBenét RamseyJonBenét Patricia Ramsey was an American child beauty pageant contestant who was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996. The six-year-old's body was found in the basement of the family home nearly eight hours after she was reported missing. She had been struck on the head and strangled...
.
Fictional
- Patsy, a fictional character from The Tribe played by Sarah MajorSarah MajorSarah Major is a voice and television actress from New Zealand who is best known for her role as Patsy in the Cloud 9 series The Tribe...
. - Patsy (Monty Python)Patsy (Monty Python)Patsy is a character in the film Monty Python and The Holy Grail and the musical Spamalot. He is played by Terry Gilliam in Monty Python and The Holy Grail...
, a character in the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
, and also the 2005 Monty Python inspired musical SpamalotSpamalotMonty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
. - Patsy Parisi, a character in HBO hit series The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
. - Patsy Sewer, a singer of the Canadian television programTelevision programA television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Instant StarInstant StarInstant Star was a Canadian television program which aired from September 2004 to June 2008. The series starred Alexz Johnson as adolescent music competition winner Jude Harrison. The show chronicles Harrison's experience in the recording industry whilst focusing upon character development.Linda...
. - Patsy Smiles, an upbeat and chipper hyenaHyenaHyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
who is in love with Lazlo in the 2005—American animated television series Camp LazloCamp LazloCamp Lazlo is an American animated television series created by Joe Murray, produced by Rough Draft Studios, Joe Murray Productions and Cartoon Network Studios. It aired on Cartoon Network...
. - Patsy Stone, one of the main characters in the 1992–2005 British television series Absolutely FabulousAbsolutely FabulousAbsolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...
, played by Joanna LumleyJoanna LumleyJoanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
. - Patsy Walker, also known as "Hellcat", a superhero character published by Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
.