Pronunciation - Peonies

Do you say:

Peo-nies

or do you say

Pe-O-nies

I can never figure out how to pronunce these things.

I say PEA-ohnee..any one else????(it's hard to write how you actually talk)

I was brought up with PE-O-NEE, however most people I hear say PE-A-NEE.

Kathy, that was excactly what I was after. I have also always said Pe-O-Nee, but then this lady on TV (Rebecca' Garden) said Pe-A-Nee which I thought sounded completely foolish untill I came to think about it and realized that maybe I am the one walking around souding foolish. (*UHH*)

I don't like the pee-a-nee at all, lol.

I just looked it up and I'm wrong with my pronunciation: pe¡Po¡Pny [ pȲ ənee ] (plural pe¡Po¡Pnies)


I still like pee-o-nee better. lol

Well looked further, seems like peony was piony in the old world and was pronounced pee-o-nee.. so there, I'm old worlde! :)

Ok, this is interesting.. so Pee-o-nee is the old fashioned way to pronouce it (from piony) and the new way is either Pee-a-nee (I don't like this either.. sounds like slang which has made it's way in) or pe-Po-Pny (e.g. with extra P's ??) pe-po-pnies ?

I am thankfull that I really love these plants or I would surely have given up on them because of the name alone ... !!
(ROLF)

This message was edited Mar 18, 2005 4:24 PM

When I lived in Wisconsin, I was told they were called Pee-a-nees. Now that I'm back in South Carolina, they're called Pee -O- nees (with an accent on the O). Here is a fun link to see the different ways people say things across the U.S. I scored 57% Dixie. What will you score?

http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html

Hi Hgurule.. that is one F-U-N-N-Y test... I scored: 31% (Yankee). You are definitely a Yankee.

Most of my answered came back as North Eastern USA, Eastern seaboard, New-York/New Jersey, Great Lakes/New England, or Rhode Island. I guess that makes sence based on my location (doesn't it, YOU GUYS ???). The only one where I got a slightly more southern score was when I clicked Yard Sale (instead of Garage sale, which would have been my 2nd choice)

I scored 38% Yankee, I think thats from my parents being from northern missouri. The people that live around me speak more southern. I always say YOU GUY'S but that wasn't a choice, so I took Youse.

well- I scored out to definitely yankee too- too funny! bobby ward (who is incidently from Raleigh) in his book "a contemplation upon flowers" writes that there are two etymological roots to the botanical name Paeonia (or peony) the word "paean" which means hymn of praise, or "Paeon" which is from greek mythology- who was a healer to the gods. Any way you look at it, great plants, i'd say!!

Indeed. The "Paeon" is how I originally knew the plants, only recently I learned that they were called peonies (or pe-a-nies.. gish !!)

Fun subject, I've often been aware when I've said PEE-O-NEE, wondering if the person I was speaking to thought I was an idiot for not saying PEE-A-NEE. Now I can confidently say my O word. :)

I have a ton of these babies in pots, getting ready to put out this spring on the deck. I probably won't plant them until the fall in their permanent place. The peonies that are already in the ground are showing me their little red heads. :)

yeah........there's a while to wait for the show to begin for most of us...though there were some Ca. posts with talk of buds....even flowers????? meanwhile we can just hum along....i say peeanee and you say peeonee....

I have always called them both.. lol I inter-change them. I say "Crick" when I dont think through saying the word Creek.. maybe it also depends on how fast I wanna talk that day. Both sound just fine to me... the only way it sounded odd (as I sat here and pronounced all the ways I could think of out loud to myself lol) was with alot of pronunciation on the O (pee-O-nee) like bologna.

My grandmother and mother called them by the old name, pineys. I call them pee a nees and my mother in law called them pee O nees.

Guess its where you are raised as to what you call them. regardless of name, they are one beautiful plant.

Max ine

I say pee-a-nee, but my mother insists on calling them "pineys", like Maxine said. She said her grandma always called em pineys and she likes the old-fashioned name. Sometimes, I forget that she calls them that and she can be going on and on about some peony she saw, and I have no idea what plant she's talking about. "Piney....you know....piney!" she says and I finally say, "Oh! Peonies!" LOL :)

BTW, I scored 48% Yankee. Very interesting since I lived my first 18 years in Ohio, then the next 10 in Central Kentucky and Virginia. Seems pretty accurate (or is that perdy accurate?) LOL :)

You know you are a yankee. when....

Heck, folks .. I'd never even known, or heard of .. Peonies .. until we moved up here; but, normally, I was pronouncing the flowers, as .. PEE'-ah-neys.

And quite a few of the local folks up here, were lookin' at me rather peculiarly, fer a wee spell. Until .. they up and asked me .. if I "was a tryin' to say pee-OH'-neys?" .. And sure nuff, we all made the connection then!! .. hee ..

{bet a many of ye, didn't even try to 'type in' an alternative either! .. hee .. I fer sure did - and it took it, too!!! .. LOL .. }

I'm so proud of mah ol suuthun 'hairy-tige' .. welllll, by crackity .. I'mma gonna post mah re-sulz .. right heuh - fer all of ye to see!

Ahh.. yes.. "PEE'-ah-neys" was what the lady said on TV (Rebecca's Garden). Silly Me, I have always said pee'-OH-nees

I am 52% Dixie - Right on the Mason Dixon line. That makes sense with my deep south mom and my yankee dad!

BTW I have always said pee-ah-nee

-Kim

If you have always said "pee-ah-nee" I bet you are more than 52% Dixie !!! (*grin*)

What's the difference between a yankee and a darn yankee? Yankee goes down south and returns to the north. Darn Yankees don't go home. LOL When I lived in TX, said wasn't leaving, but gov't transferred us out of there twice! I wanted to stay a darn yankee...

I grew up in OH, met husb in Korea, got married in TX, went back to Korea, then TX, then Germany, then NY, now PA... I have lived in too many places! It has warped my senses and my dialect. I got a "34% (Yankee). You are definitely a Yankee. ~ Suzi :)

HMM.. in NJ we consider those pensylvanians "dixies" !!!

I say pea-un-ee

Hot dog! I scored 78% Dixie! Yee Ha! And I say pee-a-nee or pee-a-nees. A lot of the older people I encounter here say pee-Oney.

I think it sounds strange to my ears with the strong O in the middle. But then there's the other argument over KLEM-a-tis, Cle-MAT-is, Cle-MAH-tis. Too late to argue.

I also say cle mat us. Lovely vines how ever we say it.
I think it must be a southern thang.

I always said pee ah nees. but I heard a lot of people say pee OH nee. my ex mother in law always said pineys. I heard a new one the other day. A man said ma's pennies and I guess I looked at him strange and he said peonies or whatever they are called. lol. anyway I love the. Couldn't grow them in ca. Live in Wyoming now and have about 5 plants and they are starting to get buds on them now. Yvonne