frowsty

[frou-stee]

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adjective, frowst·i·er, frowst·i·est. British Informal.

musty; ill-smelling.

Origin of frowsty

First recorded in 1860–65; perhaps dialectal variant of frowzy

Related formsfrowst·i·ly, adverbfrowst·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for frowsty

damp, fetid, malodorous, musty, rank, stagnant, stale, stuffy, frowsty, stinky

Examples from the Web for frowsty

Historical Examples of frowsty

He went up to the frowsty study-bedroom, and sat down at his table.
If Winter Don't
Barry Pain
She opened the back door, and he followed her into the frowsty passage.
Sinister Street, vol. 2
Compton Mackenzie
Our goods must never get into a "frowsty," shop-damaged state.
Dawson Black: Retail Merchant
Harold Whitehead
For there are frowsty children, just as there are frowsty adults, who dont want freedom.
A Treatise on Parents and Children
George Bernard Shaw
"Really, my frowsty old Camembert, don't ask us to believe that they had all overlooked it," expostulated Frederick.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, March 24, 1920.
Various

British Dictionary definitions for frowsty

frowsty

adjective -stier or -stiest

ill-smelling; stale; musty

Derived Formsfrowstiness, noun

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 frowsty

adj.

"having an unpleasant smell," 1865, of unknown origin; perhaps related to Old French frouste "ruinous, decayed," or to Old English þroh "rancid;" both of which also are of uncertain origin.