fist

[fist]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fist ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the hand closed tightly, with the fingers doubled into the palm.

Informal. the hand.

Informal. a person's handwriting.

Printing. index(def 8).

verb (used with object)

to make (one's hand) into a fist.

to grasp in the fist.

Origin of fist

before 900; Middle English; Old English fȳst; cognate with German Faust fist; perhaps akin to five

fist

[fahyst]

noun

feist.

feist

or fice fist

[fahyst]

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.

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for fist

paw, hand, grip, clutch, vise, grasp, hold, clasp, mitt

Examples from the Web for fist

Contemporary Examples of fist

Last year he lunged at me with his fist and threatened to kill me again.
I Was Pregnant When He Hit Me. Here's #WhyIStayed.
Anonymous
September 10, 2014
He grabbed a fist full of hair in one take, and we were pretty banged up by the end of it.
Patricia Arquette Uncut: Drunken Mischief with Johnny Depp, ‘True Romance’ Crush, and ‘Boyhood’
Marlow Stern
July 16, 2014
So, I haul off and belt him, two or three times, with my fist.
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial
Ivan Solotaroff
June 28, 2014
The policeman, now yelling and shaking his fist, started to exit his pillbox and walk toward me.
My Search for the Taliban Five
Josh Rogin
June 15, 2014
He listened to her thoughtfully, his chin resting on his fist.
Christie Finally Finds a Crowd That Doesn’t Care About Bridgegate
Olivia Nuzzi
February 21, 2014

Historical Examples of fist

No stones or other missiles were used; the battle was fist to fist.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
Had his fist in my face before I could get my finger on the trigger.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
He felt his own fist tingle as he returned the effort with interest.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
There was a thud as his fist hit the rickety, squeaking table in the center of the room.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
Garson brought his fist down on the table with a force that made the glasses jingle.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana

British Dictionary definitions for fist

fist

noun

a hand with the fingers clenched into the palm, as for hitting

Also called: fistful the quantity that can be held in a fist or hand

an informal word for hand, index (def. 9)

verb

(tr) to hit with the fist

Word Origin for fist

Old English fӯst; related to Old Frisian fest, Old Saxon, Old High German fūst; see five

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fist

Old English fyst, from West Germanic *fustiz (cf. Old Saxon and Old High German fust, Old Frisian fest, Middle Dutch vuust, Dutch vuist, German Faust), from Proto-Germanic *fukhstiz, probably ultimately from PIE *penkwe- "five" (cf. Old Church Slavonic pesti, Russian piasti "fist").

feist

also fist, "a breaking wind, foul smell, fart," mid-15c. (Old English had present participle fisting), a general West Germanic word; cf. Middle Dutch veest, Dutch vijst (see feisty).

Idioms and Phrases with fist

fist

see hand over fist.