feisty
/ˈfaɪsti/ adjective
Forms feistier feistiest
- adjective Tenacious, energetic, spunky. “spirited and feisty”
- adjective Belligerent; prepared to stand and fight, especially in spite of relatively small stature or some other disadvantage. “small but feisty”
- adjective Easily offended and ready to bicker. “a feisty attitude”
Synonyms
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.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “feisty”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details