pasty

¹

[ pey-stee ]

adjective

, past·i·er, past·i·est.

1. of or like paste in consistency, texture, color, etc.

   Synonyms: sallow, wan, ashy, ashen, pale

noun

, plural past·ies.

1. pasties, a pair of small, cuplike coverings for the nipples of a stripper, nude model, etc.

pasty

²

[ pas-tee ]

noun

, Chiefly British.

, plural pas·ties.

1. a pie filled with game, fish, or the like.

pasty

¹

/ ˈpæstɪ /

noun

1. a round of pastry folded over a filling of meat, vegetables, etc

   Cornish pasty

pasty

²

/ ˈpeɪstɪ /

adjective

1. of or like the colour, texture, etc, of paste
2. (esp of the complexion) pale or unhealthy-looking

noun

1. either one of a pair of small round coverings for the nipples used by striptease dancers

Derived Forms

• ˈpastily, adverb
• ˈpastiness, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pasty¹

1650–60 pasty ¹fordef 1; 1950–55 pasty ¹fordef 2; paste + -y ¹ pasty ¹( fordef 1 ), -y ² pasty ¹( fordef 2 )

Origin of pasty²

1250–1300; Middle English pastee < Middle French. See pâté

Word History and Origins

Origin of pasty¹

C13: from Old French pastée, from Late Latin pasta dough

Example Sentences

The main downside of physical sunscreen, Karen explains, is that it can leave a chalky or pasty appearance on the skin.

From Time

So, if your wax is really pasty and stinky, it’s another thing you can blame on your parents.

From No Straight News

Depending on where you live, Sunday’s winter weather event may have left behind up to five inches of pasty snow or nothing but bare ground.

From Washington Post

Since The Great White Way was given that strange moniker in 1890, the majority of actors have also bore a pasty complexion.

From The Daily Beast

The article includes a depressing photo of pasty nerds as evidence.

From The Daily Beast

I leaned out of the window but recoiled with disgust, for the young man with the pasty face stood below in the churchyard.

From The Daily Beast

If you met him in a bar, he might be all likkered up and decide he wants to kick your pasty, yuppie ass just for the hell of it.

From The Daily Beast

No pasty-faced legal adventurer is going to cause bad blood between the Warners and the Marxes.

From The Daily Beast

Some hidden magnetism burst from him like an aura, and his cold pasty face and light gray eyes flamed into positive beauty.

From Project Gutenberg

When first seen it is said to have had a pasty consistency, but on exposure to the air it dried and crumbled into powder.

From Project Gutenberg

If the metal to be cleansed is gold, you will see a pasty mass or amalgam, as it is called, of a yellowish tinge.

From Project Gutenberg

A good venison pasty, and very merry, and pleasant I made myself with my Lady, and she as much to me.

From Project Gutenberg

The pasty mass was dissolved in water, acidified with sulphuric acid, and filtered.

From Project Gutenberg