feist

or fice fist

[ fahyst ]

/ faɪst /

noun

Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. a small mongrel dog, especially one that is ill-tempered; cur; mutt.

verb (used without object)

South Midland U.S. to prance or strut about: Look at him feist around in his new clothes.

Nearby words

feira de santana, feirie, feisal, feisal i, feisal ii, feist, feisty, felafel, feldene, feldenkrais method, feldsher

Origin of feist

1760–70; compare (from 16th cent.) fisting hound, fisting cur, as contemptuous epithets for any kind of dog (present participle of fist to break wind, late Middle English; compare Old English fisting breaking wind, Middle Low German vīst, German Fist fart); (def 2) perhaps back formation from feisty

Examples from the Web for feist

Feist pauses and smiles, convinced that he has convinced me.
Republicans Battle in Arizona: Why the Debates Matter|Andrew Romano|February 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Before Feist can reply, his political director, Mark Preston, looks up from his BlackBerry.
Republicans Battle in Arizona: Why the Debates Matter|Andrew Romano|February 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Feist is familiar, of course, with the objections that have been leveled against the 2012 debates lately.
Republicans Battle in Arizona: Why the Debates Matter|Andrew Romano|February 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Feist cover “Limit to Your Love” [below] manages to improve on the original, and is one of the best songs of the year.
Best Music Albums of 2011: The Weeknd, Drake, Britney Spears, and More|Marlow Stern|December 31, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Feist compares it with English and considers it a “mixed language” almost from the start, and many facts seem to favor this view.
The New Stone Age in Northern Europe|John M. Tyler
Mon frre Annemond Coct, chevalier, au partir du pays me feist son heritier.
History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, Volume III|J. H. Merle D'Aubign