pursy

Etymology 1

From Middle English pursyf (“short of breath, asthmatic”), probably from Old French pousser (“to push; to breathe with difficulty”); see French poussif (“wheezy”).

adj

1. Out of breath; short of breath, especially due to fatness.
   We now set off in pursuit of her, all but the farmer, who, being pretty fat and pursy, was not for running a race […] 1796, Hannah More, The History of Mary Wood, London: J. Marshall & R. White, page 6
   The chief of the Tramps had a wonderful calculating eye in the observation of distances and the nature of the land, as he proved by his discovery of untried passes in the higher Alps, and he had no mercy for pursy followers. 1904, George Meredith, “Leslie Stephen”, in Miscellaneous Prose, London: Constable, published 1910, page 189
2. Fat and short.
   […] the vicar […] was particularly fond of boys in general. Not so the doctor, a pursy little man with a terrific frown, who hated boys, especially little ones, with a very powerful hatred. 1858, R. M. Ballantyne, chapter 1, in Martin Rattler, London: T. Nelson & Sons, published 1893, page 10

Etymology 2

From purse (“pucker”) + -y and purse (“small bag for carrying money”) + -y.

adj

1. Puckered.
   So Aunt Bell sat down to table—a bony frame, with an anxious green eye, a pursy mouth, and a sweating sickness of bitter words, seeking to break forth at the earliest opportunity. 1861, W. G. Wills, chapter 23, in Notice to Quit, volume 1, London: Hurst & Blackett, pages 242–243
   The laundress has bangs And pursy lips And thin hips 1954, Jack Kerouac, “51st Chorus”, in San Francisco Blues: The Book of Blues, Penguin, published 1995, page 52
   “Ah,” she pronounced, and took in Enoch with pursy violated eyes. 1966, Cynthia Ozick, Trust, New York: New American Library, Part Four, 2, p. 413
2. Purse-proud; vain about one's wealth.