The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Peevish \Pee"vish\, a. [OE. pevische; of uncertain origin, perh.
   from a word imitative of the noise made by fretful children +
   -ish.]
   1. Habitually fretful; easily vexed or fretted; hard to
      please; apt to complain; querulous; petulant. "Her peevish
      babe." --Wordsworth.
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            She is peevish, sullen, froward.      --Shak.
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   2. Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable
      dissatisfaction; as, a peevish answer.
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   3. Silly; childish; trifling. [Obs.]
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            To send such peevish tokens to a king. --Shak.
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   Syn: Querulous; petulant; cross; ill-tempered; testy;
        captious; discontented. See Fretful.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

peevish
    adj 1: easily irritated or annoyed; "an incorrigibly fractious
           young man"; "not the least nettlesome of his countrymen"
           [syn: cranky, fractious, irritable, nettlesome,
           peevish, peckish, pettish, petulant, scratchy,
           testy, tetchy, techy]