feisty

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Archived revision by Andrew012p (talk | contribs) as of 13:20, 1 November 2023.
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Englisch

Etymology

1896, American, feist (small, aggressive dog) +‎ -y;[1] the term feist (now rare) itself originally meant “stink”, and earlier “fart”, from Middle English, from Old English, from Proto-Germanic, presumably from Proto-Indo-European – see feist for details.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfaɪsti/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪsti

Adjective

feisty (comparative feistier or more feisty, superlative feistiest or most feisty)

  1. Tenacious, energetic, spunky.
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  2. Belligerent; prepared to stand and fight, especially in spite of relatively small stature or some other disadvantage.
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  3. Easily offended and ready to bicker.
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “feisty”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.