feisty
/ˈfaɪsti/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.07 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Belligerent; prepared to stand and fight, especially in spite of relatively small stature or some other disadvantage.
Example Sentences
- "spirited and feisty"
- "She gave a feisty response during the debate."
- "The feisty puppy barked at everyone."
- "small but feisty"
- "The feisty wife of a world-renowned Russian sculptor emasculated an armed thug outside her Soho home — saying he “didn’t have the cojones to shoot her,” police sources said yesterday."
- "a feisty attitude"
Etymology
First use appears c. 1875 in the US. From feist (“a 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.