Feisty

WORD OF THE DAY

feisty / adjective / FYE-stee

Definition

chiefly Southern US and Midland US

1a: full of nervous energy 

1b: fidgety  

1c: touchy, quarrelsome  

1d: exuberantly frisky

2a: having or showing a lively aggressiveness 

2b: spunky

Examples

"She's feisty. She's bawdy. She's bodacious.... She's a bit of a wild child." 

— Vicki Lawrence, quoted in The New York Magazine, 5 Oct. 2018

"The rise of satellite and cable technology in the nineties created new possibilities for nationally syndicated programs built around feisty, voice-driven pundits." 

— Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 24 Sept. 2018

Did You Know?

In certain parts of the United States, most notably the South, the noun feist (pronounced to rhyme with heist) refers to a small dog used in hunting small game animals (such as squirrels). 

Also spelled fice or fyce, it comes from an obsolete term, "fisting hound," that derived from another obsolete term, fist, a verb that once meant "to break wind." 

The term feisty has come a long way from its flatulent origin, but its small-dog association still seems relevant: the term conveys the spunk and determination that one may associate with a dog that manages to make its presence known (either through its bark or its bite) despite its small size.