Feist

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7417
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

Feist

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat Aug 02, 2014 10:31 pm

• feist •

Pronunciation: faist • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A small, scrappy dog with a snippy attitude.

Notes: Feisty people are often admired for their feistiness: they are a bit touchy and quarrelsome, with a quick temper, but show pluck in the face of daunting odds. Often they are considered of smaller stature than others. Feisty means "like a feist", but what is a feist? We thought you might like to know before this word disappears forever. The last place feist was used was in the southern US, so the adjective represents a contribution from the South to the general English vocabulary.

In Play: There may still be old folks down South who use today's word like this, "I would sell my dog to Clara, but I don't think a feist like him would get along with her cats." But if people may be feisty, there may be metaphorical feists: "Ida Claire picked up a feist on steroids who picks fights with any male who looks at her twice."

Word History: This good word represents a variant spelling of fist, pronounced [fayst] just like feist, and is a reduction of the phrase fisting dog. This expression comes from Middle English fisting "breaking wind", inherited from the Old English fisting with the same odoriferous meaning. The semantic trail apparently began pointing to a dog far too old to be feisty, that expressed his spirit otherwise. The meaning changed rather radically over the years. At one point it was a disparaging name for a lady's lap dog but ended up referring to a small, spirited dog.
• The Good Dr. Goodword

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8040
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Re: Feist

Postby Slava » Thu Dec 25, 2014 5:17 pm

Well, I for one am glad that feist changed meanings. I like feisty beasties, but any broken wind from such is rather noisome.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Perry Lassiter
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 3333
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:41 pm
Location: RUSTON, LA
Contact:

Re: Feist

Postby Perry Lassiter » Thu Dec 25, 2014 11:13 pm

The adjective feisty is far from disappearing down here in the south. I hear it regularly and have for years. I would assume most anyone would understand it and probably assume it came from a breed of dog.
pl


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 58 guests