beastie

American  

[bee-stee] / ˈbi sti /

noun

1. Chiefly Literary. a small animal, especially one toward which affection is felt.

2. Facetious. an insect; bug.

3. Canadian Slang (chiefly Alberta). construction worker.

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beastie British  

/ ˈbiːstɪ /

noun

1. a small animal

2. informal an insect

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Etymology

Origin of beastie

First recorded in 1775–85; beast + -ie

Explanation

A beastie is a small animal, especially a cute, wild one like a chipmunk, or a beloved, domesticated one like a pet. Someone might even refer to an insect, such as a ladybug or a cricket, as a beastie. As you might've guessed, beastie comes from beast, another word for "animal." The -ie added to the end is a diminutive suffix — it's used to indicate something or someone small, cute, or dear. You see it at the end of kiddie, for example. It often has the form -y, as in froggy for a little frog, and it's often attached to a person's name, as in Jeanie or Billy. There it expresses affection even if the person is not small — or cute.

Example Sentences

That movie's entire marketing campaign oriented around the Statue of Liberty's decimation by the beastie Clover.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2024

Joel’s paternal fondness for Ellie, it becomes clear, scares him more than any undead beastie.

From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2023

In 1998, she found it did, in fact, slow, by about one-hundredth of 1 second—proof that Duncan and Thompson’s theoretical beastie existed in the wild.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 8, 2021

Her final meal before bed is what she refers to as "beastie bolognese," which she makes with browned ground meat, organic tomato sauce, garlic, onion, garlic salt, kosher beef seasoning, oregano and parsley.

From Fox News • Jan. 30, 2019

I hate you, Adolf Hitler, you selfish wee beastie of a man, keeping Germany all to yourself.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• animal
• creature
• wild animal