From Middle English pevische, pevisse, pevysse, peivesshe, also peyuesshe, peeuish, of obscure origin. Perhaps from Middle English pew, pue, equivalent to pue + -ish. Cognate with Scots pevis, pevess, pevych, pevach, Scots pew, peu. See pue.
An alternative etymology derives Middle English peyvesshe, as a possible corruption of Latin perversus ("perverted"). The meaning “fretful” develops in the 16th century.
A third suggestion links the word to classical Latin expavidus (< ex- + pavidus) via an unrecorded variant with -ai- of Middle French espave ("stray [of animals]; foreign [of persons]; lost property, flotsam") (first attested 1283 in Old French; Modern French épave). The semantic connection is thought to be the behaviour of stray animals. Compare -ish suffix.
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