utchy

English

Etymology 1

A modification of utch, ich, iche, from Middle English ich (“I”, pronoun),^[1] from Old English iċ (“I”, pronoun), from Proto-Germanic *ik, *ek (“I”, pronoun), from Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂ (“I”). Doublet of che. Recorded in use in the area around Yeovil in southern Somerset.^[2]

Alternative forms

• utch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʌt͡ʃɪ/^[2]

Pronoun

utchy

1. (West Country, Somerset, obsolete, personal) I^[3]

   What shall utchy do?

   • 1869, James Jennings, The Dialect of the West of England: Particularly Somersetshire, page 69:

     [It is, manifestly, a corrupt pronunciation of Ich, or Ichè, pronounced as two syllables, the Anglo-Saxon word for I. What shall utchy do? What shall I do. I think Chaucer sometimes uses iche as a dissyllable; […] ]

   • 1916, John Read, Latter-Lammas:

     [page 11:] As valled out, utchy come across en out to Clinkerbell Barn […]
     [page 63:] Let utchy bide, cassen!
     [page 81:] Only let en lay 's han' 'pon u t c h y! 'Ch'ill zmoor en doown! 'Ch'ill gie en the backzwrd cut!

Related terms

• ch
• ch-

Etymology 2

Unknown.^[4]

Adjective

utchy (not comparable)

1. (dialectal) Chilly, parky.

References

1. Jennings, James Knight (1869) “I, Ic, Ich, Iche, Utchy, Ise, C', Ch', Che, Ch'am, Ch'ud, Ch'll”, in The Dialect of the West of England, 2nd edition, London: John Russell Smith, pages 150–155
2. Ellis, Alexander John (1889) “The Land of Utch for I, Sm.”, in On Early English Pronunciation, volume 5, London: Trübner & Co, page 1516
3. William Holloway (1840) A General Dictionary of Provincialisms‎, page 181
4. “utchy, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2018.