Starting one for once; it is a first for A.

Sounds like a Hillbilly translation of "touchy", as might be heard in an old western movie.

We are on the same wave-length. I could just imagine
some Ol'e Codger, like Gabby Hayes or Walter Brennan,
using the word. Tsk,tsk.

Yes, I grew up hearing tetchy from my grandparents, as in "Oh, don't be so tetchy." But I don't think it was a western word unless it had been carried there. Both sides of my family lived in the Appalachian mountains before they migrated south to the Georgian highlands. They migrated from England and Scotland (documented) and possibly from near Germany or France (family anecdote) in the late 1600's and early 1700's to Virginia and Kentucky, then down to Georgia in the 1800's and early 1900's. My paternal grandmother spoke with a slight brogue until her death at 92 in the 1974. My own family's use of "reckon" and "yonder" in everyday speech still rings of the King's English from the 1600's.

WELCOME JNLLNSMTH

Yes, it is reminiscent of Kentucky, Tennessee and other
places. I believe my grandmother used it too. It's just
that the two fine gentlemen actors came to mind when I
read it on the email. As it said it has been around since
the 1600 or some odd long ago date. Again welcome.

Wow, jnllnsmth--I wonder if some of our ancestors knew each other; mine followed the same path...except I was unable to verify the Georgia connection. But it was an unusual-enough surname that there's a good chance it was a relative. Have you read Christy by Catherine Marshall? In it she recounts how Appalachians' speech sounded old-worldy, specifically Scottish.
Welcome aBoard!

Edit--oh, yes, there was a topic here, wasn't there? Ok--in that book, tetchy was used commonly. I think.

AHD4 gives pretty much the same etymology as Anu did, with the addition of "influenced by TOUCHY".

The book CHRISTY is very good. There was a TV series of
the same name and subject matter for a short time years back.