Gender Feminine
Meaning & History
Primarily Southeastern in the United States, dating back to the 1840s and also used in the early 20th century.Pharisee (n) "from Aramaic (Semitic) perishayya, emphatic plural of perish 'separated, separatist,' corresponding to Hebrew parush, from parash 'he separated.' Extended meaning 'any self-righteous person, formalist, hypocrite, scrupulous or ostentatious observer of the outward forms of religion without regard to its inward spirit' is attested from 1580s" -etymonline.com