feisty

English

Etymology

1896, American, feist (“small, aggressive dog”) +‎ -y; 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

• Rhymes: -aɪsti

Adjective

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

1. Tenacious, energetic, spunky.
2. Belligerent; prepared to stand and fight, especially in spite of relatively small stature or some other disadvantage.
3. Easily offended and ready to bicker.

Derived terms

• feistily
• feistiness

Translations

tenacious

Dutch: hardnekkig (nl) Finnish: ärhäkkä (fi), kipakka (fi) German: zäh (de), hartnäckig (de) Italian: tenace (it), tosto (it)

Russian: напористый (ru) (napóristyj) Spanish: salara (es) f. Swedish: ettrig (sv)

belligerent

Dutch: strijdlustig (nl), strijdbaar (nl), vechtlustig (nl) French: qui a du tempérament (fr), agressif (fr) German: streitsüchtig (de), kampflustig (de)

Italian: combattivo (it) Russian: вздорный (ru) (vzdórnyj) Swedish: stridslysten, stridbar

Easily offended

Dutch: lichtgeraakt (nl)