fistn.1
/fɪst/, U.S. /fɪst/ 1. The hand clenched or closed tightly, with the fingers doubled into the palm:
a. gen., esp. for the purpose of striking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > hand > [noun] > fist
fista900
nievec1300
gripea1555
fistock1567
neufe1602
mauler1820
mallet1821
fives1825
duke1874
knobblies1898
a900 Lorica Gloss. 49 in Old Eng. Texts (1885) 173 Pugnas, fyste.
c1000 Ælfric Exodus xxi. 18 Gif men cidaþ & hira oþer hys nextan mid..fyste sticþ.
c1050 Monastic Sign-language in Techmer's Internat. Zeitschr. f. alig. Sprgsch. II. 124 Rær up þine fæste.
c1160 Hatton Gosp. Mark xiv. 65 Sume..mid festen hine beaten.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 84 He þolede þet þe gywes dutten..his deorewurðe muð wið hare dreori fustes.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11370 & seoððen þa uustes uusden to sweoren [c1300 Otho mid þan fustes starcliche (hii) fohte].
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 105 Þe fyngris of his hand ben folden into his fist.
1422 J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 156 The honde..that nowe in leynthe othyre in Palme hym streythyth, agayn into a wyste hym closyth.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos xxvii. 107 Smytynge her brestes wyth her handes and fustes.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. UUUi They layde on hym with their fystes & other wepyns.
1588 ‘M. Marprelate’ Oh read ouer D. Iohn Bridges: Epist. 2 You will shortly..haue twenty fistes about your eares.
1626 J. Pory in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) III. 239 The Queen..brake the glasse windowes with her fiste.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 175 He only fights with a closed fist.
1740 W. Somervile Hobbinol ii. 294 His Iron Fist descending crush'd his Skull.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. v. 105 Testifying..a vehement desire to shake her matronly fist at her son-in-law.
1865 C. Kingsley Hereward II. ii. 36 Which we inherited by right of fist.
b. for clasping or holding something within. Hence also, grasp, grip, clutches. Now chiefly jocular.Cf. French poing, still the ordinary word in this sense. In English hand is now commonly used.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > [noun] > possession and control > possession and power or clutches
gripOE
handgripOE
crook?c1225
fist1297
fangera1300
holtc1375
in one's clawsc1386
clutcha1529
handgripe1534
clamps1548
clums1567
clamsa1569
embracement1599
pounce1614
embracea1627
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 345 Boþe hys honden he nom Vol of þe poudre & of þe erþe..And closedes to gader & hys fustes boþe adrou.
c1320 tr. J. Bonaventura Medit. 212 He þat þou seest yn þe prestes fest.
a1400 Prymer (St. John's Cambr.) (1891) 18 He..hooldith the world in his feest.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) lviii. 84 She with hir fyst tooke hym fast by the mantell.
c1500 Melusine (1895) xxxviii. 302 The geaunt, that held his syþe in his fyst.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10995 Philmen the fre kyng, þat he in fyst hade.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 2 He that a little before perswaded himselfe to haue helde all England in his fist, now [etc.].
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. vii. sig. S6 More light then Culuer in the Faulcons fist.
1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads (1677) 244 Lycon..broke his sword: one part staid in his fist; The other flew.
a1732 J. Gay Fables (1738) II. ix. 80 I know, that in a modern fist, Bribes in full energy subsist.
1807 ‘P. Plymley’ Two Lett. on Catholics ii. 20 No eel in the well-sanded fist of a cook-maid..ever twisted..as [etc.].
1850 E. B. Browning tr. Æschylus Prometheus Bound (rev. ed.) in Poems (new ed.) I. 182 To shatter in Poseidon's fist The trident-spear.
1864 F. Palgrave Hist. Normandy & Eng. III. 19 The leash in his fist.
c. In various phrases: to grease the fist or (one) in the fist: to bribe, pay well; so, †to mollify the fist. to make a (good, poor, etc.) fist: colloquial (originally U.S. and dialect) to make a (good, etc.) attempt at or of something. Also, hand over fist, hand to fist: see hand to fist adv. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [verb (transitive)] > bribe
meedOE
underorna1325
corrump1387
forbuy1393
hirec1400
wage1461
fee1487
under-arearc1503
bribe1528
grease1528
money1528
corrupt1548
budc1565
to feed with money1567
to put out a person's eyes with (a gift, bribe, etc.)1580
sweeten1594
to grease the fist or (one) in the fist1598
over-bribe1619
to buy off1629
palter1641
to take off1646
buy1652
overmoneya1661
bub1684
to speak to ——1687
to tickle in the palm1694
daub1699
overbuy1710
touch1752
palm1767
to get at ——1780
fix1790
subsidize1793
sop1837
to buy over1848
backsheesh1850
nobble1856
square1859
hippodrome1866
see1867
boodleize1883
boodle1886
to get to ——1901
reach1906
straighten1923
lubricate1928
to keep (someone) sweet1939
sling1939
to pay off1942
bung1950
the world > action or operation > endeavour > attempt [verb (transitive)]
fandOE
assayc1300
tryc1315
provec1330
adventurea1387
sayc1390
paina1400
havec1400
practisea1450
afforcec1487
afond1488
attempta1538
procure1574
endeavour1581
offer1611
poacha1616
attent1620
to venture at1623
essay1641
attentate1656
smacka1657
tempt1697
to try at1794
to have a go1802
to make a (good, poor, etc.) fist1833
tackle1847
to have or take a whack at1891
to make (or have, etc.) a stab at (something)1895
to have a dash (at)1916
1598 Bp. J. Hall Virgidemiarum: 3 Last Bks. iv. v. 36 That some fat bribe might greaze him in the fist.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 98 Till a right understanding be created..which commonly follows when the Fist is mollified.
1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 111 I had now and then greased the Chief Surgeons Fist.
1833 A. Greene Life & Adv. D. Duckworth ii. 8 You hadn't ought to tax any thing..seeing you've made such a fist of it.
1838 C. Gilman Recoll. Southern Matron v. 46 He reckoned he should make a better fist at farming than edicating.
1841 W. G. Simms Kinsmen II. 24 You made a poor fist of this business.
1869 A. C. Gibson Folk-speech Cumberland 177 Thoo hes mead a fist on't.
1876 T. Hardy Hand of Ethelberta II. xlvi. 240 'Tis a poor fist I can make at hearing anything.
1880 W. D. Howells Undiscovered Country v. 87 Mrs. Burton is really making a very pretty fist at a salon.
1920 J. Galsworthy In Chancery iii. iii. 255 He made a poor fist of sleeping.
1950 E. A. McCourt Home is Stranger (1951) ii. 31 He doesn't make much of a fist at farming.
1965 Listener 2 Dec. 934/2 You could make a much better fist of it than the experts.
d. in Falconry, with reference to carrying hawks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hawking > falconer > [noun] > carrier of hawks > fist
fist1482
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > hand > [noun] > fist > as carrying falcon
fist1482
1482 Monk of Evesham xxxiii. 75 Sothely he bare there on hys fyste a lytyll byrdde lyke a sparhauke.
1486 Bk. St. Albans D j b When ye haue yowre hawke on yowre fyst.
1562 J. Heywood Sixt Hundred Epigrammes xci, in Wks. sig. Ddiv They [falcons] wyll check oft, but neuer come to the fist.
1828 J. S. Sebright Observ. Hawking (new ed.) 47 The goshawk is termed a hawk of the fist, because it is from thence, and not from the air, that he flies at his game.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. xv. 285 They will be his darlings, his housecarles, his hawks to sit on his fist.
e. Used occasionally for: †(a) A blow with the fist (obsolete); (b) the art of using the fists, boxing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > [noun] > with the hand > with the fist
bobeta1400
bobettingc1440
boba1568
nevel1568
fisticuffs1600
bunch1642
condyle1644
poke1690
punch1766
fist1767
plug1798
chuckera1805
polthogue1808
fistera1834
jab1889
bust1893
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun]
defence1549
pugilation1656
fencing1692
boxing1693
the (noble, also manly) art of self-defence1724
noble art1749
bruising1750
ring1770
noble science1778
pugilism1788
sparring1797
the sweet science1810
the fancy1820
pugilistics1820
pugnastics1830
fista1839
scrapping1891
ring-work1899
no contest1922
1767 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (ed. 2) I. iii. 74 Harry gave him such a sudden fist in the temple as drove him staggering backward.
1767 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (ed. 2) I. vi. 206 [He] gave him such a sudden fist in the mouth.
a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 13 Skilful in fencing and in fist.
2.
a. The hand, not necessarily clenched or closed. Obsolete except in jocular use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > hand > [noun]
handeOE
cleche?c1225
fista1300
dallea1500
clutcha1529
gripea1555
famble1567
claw1577
golla1586
patte1586
manus1598
pickers and stealers1604
fore-foota1616
pud1654
daddle?1725
fin1785
mauley1789
feeler1825
maniple1829
flipper1832
flapper1834
grappler1852
duke1874
mitt1893
a1300 Fragm. Pop. Sc. (Wright) 322 Thelbowes to the schare, the fustes to the chynne.
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 4059 Mani he smot of fot & fest.
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xx. 124 The fader is þenne as þe fust with fynger and with paume.
a1400–50 Alexander 4674 With ilka fingire on ȝoure fist.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 10 This fist shal sacrifice great flocks on thy sacred altars.
1587 J. Hooker tr. Giraldus Cambrensis Vaticinall Hist. Conquest Ireland i. xxxviii. 24/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II She..did wring hir fists, and cried out with a lowd voice.
1629 J. Ford Lovers Melancholy ii. 26 I haue a fist for thee too (Strippling) th'art started vp prettily since I saw thee.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis ii. 113 The people of Numidia eat out of their Fist.
1708 P. A. Motteux Wks. F. Rabelais (1737) iv. v. 20 Panurge and his Antagonist shak'd Fists.
1719 in T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth III. 105 Each Lad took his Lass by the Fist.
1896 N.E.D. at Fist Mod. colloq. Give us your fist, old fellow: i.e. shake hands.
b. Print. slang. An index mark ☛.
ΚΠ
1888 in C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. (at cited word)
3. The ‘hand’ that one writes; handwriting. Now only jocular.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [noun] > of individual
fista1556
character1569
handwriting1599
paw1628
orthograph1835
MS1843
mauley1851
1524 R. Dolphine Let. 19 Apr. in M. A. E. Wood Lett. Royal & Illustrious Ladies (1846) II. 23 The letter is subscribed and signed ‘By the rude fist of your servant..Richard Dolphine’.]
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) iii. v. sig. F.j Loke you on your owne fist, and I will looke on this.
1567 G. Turberville tr. A. Sani di Cure Aunsweres in tr. Ovid Heroycall Epist. 148 I knewe thy friendly fist at first.
c1690 in Bagford Ballads (1877) 757 Several Yards of Fist Were wanting to compleat the List.
1864 Derby Day i. 8 Your friend writes a tolerable fist.
Compounds
C1. General attributive. Also close-fist n.
a.
fist-like adj.
ΚΠ
1647 R. Stapleton tr. Juvenal Sixteen Satyrs 214 Hie [His?] fist-like dowcets.
b.
fistwise adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > hand > [adverb] > like fist
fistwise1393
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xx. 150 As my hand and my fyngres, Vnfolde oþer yfolde, a fust-wise oþer elles, Al is hit bote on hand.
a1603 T. Cartwright Confut. Rhemists New Test. (1618) 514 The same hand which being first stretched forth palm-wise, is after gathered fist-wise.
C2. † fist-meat n. Obsolete in to eat fist-meat, to receive a blow in the mouth from a fist.
fist-ball n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > handball, etc. > [noun] > other handball games > equipment
fist-ball1585
balloon1598
balloon bracer1650
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 296 Follis..a fist ball or a wind ball beaten with the fists to and fro in play.
fist-fight n. a duel with fists.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > fighting > [noun] > a fight > with hands or fists
fist-fight1603
a rubber at (also of) cuffs1640
chiromachy1659
punch-out1969
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 773 At hurl-bats and fist-fight.
1873 J. H. Beadle Undeveloped West iv. 88 Dances, drunks and fist-fights met with a sudden interruption.
1961 A. Miller Misfits xi. 128 A blasted look is on Gay's face, as though he had been beaten in a fistfight in a cause he only half-believed.
fist-fighter n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > fighting > [noun] > one who fights > with fists
cuffer1662
fist-fighter1950
1950 J. Dempsey Championship Fighting xvi. 89 They [sc. shovels] are particularly valuable for the fist-fighter.
fist-fighting n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > fighting > [noun] > with the fists
fisticuffs1600
buffet1675
fist-work1819
fisticuffery1823
fisticuffing1855
knockabout1903
fist-fighting1950
1950 J. Dempsey Championship Fighting i. 9 Exploding body-weight is the most important weapon in fist-fighting or in boxing.
fist-free adj. unharmed by blows.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > [adjective] > of health: good > free from injury
unwoundedOE
wholeOE
unwemmedc1175
hailc1275
wemlessc1330
sound as a trouta1450
unmaimeda1470
unmaggled1508
unmenyied?a1513
in (also with) a whole skin1534
woundless1579
unmartyred1580
wound-free1609
invulnered1613
fist-free1615
invulneratea1680
unmangled1885
1615 T. Tomkis Albumazar v. ix. sig. Lv Neuer a sute I wore to day, but hath been soundly basted. Onely this faithfull Countrey case 'scap't fist-free.
fist-law n. = German faustrecht), the right of the strongest.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > [noun] > right of the strongest
fist-law1831
1831 Examiner 436/1 It was probably acquired..by fist-law (the jus gladii, or Faustrecht, of the old Civilians).
1856 R. A. Vaughan Hours with Mystics (1860) I. 35 A rough age of fist-law.
fist-mate n. an opponent in a boxing-match.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > boxer
buffeter1483
pugil1646
cuffer1662
boxer1672
pugilistc1740
setter-to1810
miller1812
sparrer1814
pet1825
pugilistic1827
slogger1829
fist-mate1834
peeler1852
pug1858
scrapper1874
slugger1877
slogster1881
basher1882
fisticuffer1888
ring man1899
ringster1902
pucker1919
1834 W. S. Landor Wks. (1846) II. 239/2 A third [fights] because the next parish is an eyesore to him, and his fist-mate is from it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking on specific part of the body > strike on specific part of the body [verb (intransitive)] > on the head > receive a blow on the mouth
to eat fist-meat1563
1563 Jack Juggler (1873) 47 Gentlemen are you disposed to eat any fist-mete?
fist-note n. in Printing, matter of particular importance signalled by a symbol in the shape of a hand with the index finger extended.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printers' symbols and directions > [noun] > finger or hand in margin
hand1553
marginal finger1604
index1727
fist-note1934
manicule1986
1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Fist-note.
1967 Dict. Canadianisms xix/2 Within many entries are short notes (identified by this symbol ☛ and called ‘fist-notes’).
fist-work n. fighting with the fists.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > fighting > [noun] > with the fists
fisticuffs1600
buffet1675
fist-work1819
fisticuffery1823
fisticuffing1855
knockabout1903
fist-fighting1950
1819 T. Moore Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (ed. 3) 6 A Ring and fair fist-work at Aix-la-Chapelle.
Draft additions October 2009
fist pound n. (a) an emphatic thump of the fist on a table or other surface, esp. as an expression of impatience or anger; (b) originally and chiefly U.S. = fist bump n. at Additions.
ΚΠ
1939 A. J. A. Stringer Cleverest Woman in World 105 (stage direct.) With a fist-pound on the table.
1996 Daily News (N.Y.) (Nexis) 24 Nov. 126 After 91 autographs, 67 handshakes, 18 high-fives, 14 fist-pounds,..Pat Croce, new part-owner and president of the Philadelphia 76ers, is ready to call it a day.
2003 L. Esdaile in L. Esdaile et al. Candlelight & You ii. 22 ‘You are handling thangs, my brother,’ Brandon said with a grin, receiving a fist pound from the DJ who pulled in ratings.
2009 Fayette (N. Carolina) Observer (Nexis) 8 Jan. Geerlinks has a problem with losing. He hates it... [He] often reacts with a deafening profanity and a fist pound on his locker.
Draft additions October 2009
fist bump n. chiefly U.S. (originally Sport) an informal gesture of greeting or affirmation in which two people lightly tap each other's clenched fist.
ΚΠ
1996 Baltimore Sun 15 Aug. 1 d/6 Murray..waited for his teammates to come off the field, and to each he offered a wide selection of salutations, learned across two decades of playing baseball. High-fives, handshakes, or fist bumps, or whatever seemed appropriate for the moment.
2003 C. Bennett & J. Gottesfeld Speed 161 ‘You up for it, Clark?’ ‘Yeah, sure,’ Clark said. ‘It's a deal.’ He and Pete shared a fist-bump.
2008 Daily Tel. 13 June 20/4 (caption) Barack Obama and his wife Michelle exchange fist bumps, a gesture that is commonplace in all walks of American life.
Draft additions October 2009
fist pump n. chiefly Sport (originally North American) a gesture of triumph or affirmation in which the forearm is raised with fist clenched, then swung downwards towards the body (or upwards into the air) in a vigorous pumping motion.
ΚΠ
1981 Washington Post 20 July d 4/2 He pulled every move in the book—the wedge-high salute to the crowd, the fist-pump of victory after the final 10-foot par putt and the jubilant heaving of the winning ball halfway up the grandstand.
1998 J. Cahill Meadowlands (HBO TV shooting script) 41 (stage direct.) in Sopranos 1st Ser. (O.E.D. Archive) He gives Anthony Jr. an encouraging first-pump, then steps back.
2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 4 Oct. c22/1 He celebrates his goals with great emotion, and his trademark fist pump quickly became a part of the Rangers' personality.
Draft additions October 2009
fist-pump v. chiefly Sport (originally North American) transitive and intransitive to perform a fist pump as a gesture of triumph or affirmation.
ΚΠ
1984 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 18 Aug. e7/1 The Heavy Metal Hurricane at the Grandstand last night found an audience of nearly 20,000 heavy metal fans who head-banged and fist-pumped their way through a six-hour metal fest.
1997 Washington Post (Nexis) 15 June c3 Montgomerie acted like Scottish royalty as he waved and fist-pumped the air to delirious cheers from the gallery.
2009 J. Kraut & S. Lester Hot Mess xxv. 330 ‘Ahhh! Yes!’ Rachel yelped and fist-pumped from behind her laptop.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
fistn.2
/fʌɪst/, U.S. /faɪst/ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > fetor > [noun] > fetid smells
stenchc893
reekeOE
weffea1300
stink1382
fise14..
smeek?c1425
fist1440
fetorc1450
stew1487
moisture1542
putor1565
pouant1602
funk1606
graveolence1623
hogo1654
whiff1668
fogo1794
stythe1823
malodour1825
pen and ink1859
body scent1875
pong1900
niffa1903
hum1906
taint1927
honk1953
bowf1985
stank1996
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > fart or belch > [noun]
fise14..
fartc1405
fist1440
rapa1475
ventosity1513
pet?1521
escape1599
fowkin?a1600
bum crack1604
squib1611
poot1899
poop1937
trouser cough1978
trouser burp2003
1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 163/1 Fyyst, stynk, lirida.
1511 Demaundes joyous in Kemble Salomon (1848) 288 It is fartes and fyestes.
a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 343 Jone sayne she had eaten a fyest; By Christ, sayde she, thou lyest, I haue as swete a breth As thou.
1605 G. Chapman et al. Eastward Hoe iv. sig. G3v Mary, fyste o' your kindnesse. I thought as much..we shall assoone get a fart from a dead man, as a farthing of court'sie here.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Secrette,..a fiste.
1664 C. Cotton Scarronides 44 With that he whistled out most mainly, You might have heard his Fist..From one side of the Skie to th' t' other.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > fungi > [noun] > puff-ball
wolf's-fista1300
puckfistc1300
puff1538
earth-puff1585
foist1593
fist1597
fuzz-ball1597
puff-fist1597
bunt1601
fuzz1601
bullfist1611
mully-puff1629
fist-ball1635
puffball1649
puck-ball1730
puffin1755
lycoperdon1756
frog cheese1766
puck1766
fuzzy-ballc1850
ball smut1925
1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1386 Puffes Fistes, are commonly called in Latine Lupi crepitus, or Woolfes Fistes.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Vesse de loup, the dustie or smoakie Toad~stole called..Bull fyste, Puffyst, wolues fyste.
3. U.S. dialect. A small dog. Cf. fisting hound and fice n.
ΚΠ
1850 L. H. Garrard Wah-to-Yah (1927) iv. 60 In our lodge were three huge curs and four cross feists.
1872 E. Eggleston End of World xliv. 287 It reminded me of a little fice-t dog I had when I was a leetle codger.
Compounds
fist-ball n. = fuzz-ball n., puffball n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > fungi > [noun] > puff-ball
wolf's-fista1300
puckfistc1300
puff1538
earth-puff1585
foist1593
fist1597
fuzz-ball1597
puff-fist1597
bunt1601
fuzz1601
bullfist1611
mully-puff1629
fist-ball1635
puffball1649
puck-ball1730
puffin1755
lycoperdon1756
frog cheese1766
puck1766
fuzzy-ballc1850
ball smut1925
1635 R. Herrick Oberon's Feast in Poems (1869) 471 A little fust-ball [1648 Hesper. 137 Fuz-ball] pudding standes By.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum xiv. lxiv. 1324 The Fusse balls or rather Foist or Fist balls.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
fistv.1
/fɪst/, U.S. /fɪst/ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > fighting > fight [verb (intransitive)] > fight with fists
fist?a1300
cuff?1611
fistify1860
to go the knuckle1944
?a1300 Solomon & Saturn 272 Þou most fist and fle ylome wiþ eye ant wiþ herte.
[see 'Implied in' only applies when the target is a quotation]. 2.
a. transitive. To strike with the fist, beat, punch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the hand > with the fist
boxc1390
punch1530
nevela1572
fist1600
transfisticate1600
fisticuff1653
nubble1673
befist1718
plug1847
to put a head on (also upon)1866
to stick one on1910
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. i. 21 And I but fist him once.
1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar v. ii. 79 I saw him Spurning and Fisting her most unmercifully.
1876 Ld. Tennyson Harold i. i. 19 The boy would fist me hard.
b. spec. in Association Football. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > association football > play association football [verb (transitive)] > actions to ball
smother1845
handle1869
middle1869
fist1909
volley1909
sidefoot1913
clear1947
convert1950
trap1950
square1972
welly1986
1909 Daily Chron. 1 Feb. 8/5 The latter unobserved by the referee fisted the ball into the net..and a goal was allowed.
1937 Times 15 Feb. 6 Bigot first hooked the ball in when Hankey had fisted out a troublesome free-kick by Payen.
1970 Times 30 Sept. 15/4 Ferencvaros continued to press—Clemence fisted clear.
3. To grasp or seize with the fist; to handle. Now esp. Nautical. †to fist about, to hand round.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > touch and feeling > touching > touching with the hand > touch or feel with the hand [verb (transitive)]
repeOE
warpa1225
treatc1384
feela1400
palp1534
palpabrize1593
fista1616
handa1616
thrumble1632
to set (one's) hand to1638
to feel of ——1678
digitize1689
the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > hold [verb (transitive)] > lay hold of or grasp
i-fangc888
gripc950
repeOE
befongOE
keepc1000
latchc1000
hentOE
begripec1175
becatchc1200
fang?c1200
i-gripea1225
warpa1225
fastenc1225
arepa1250
to set (one's) hand(s onc1290
kip1297
cleach?a1300
hendc1300
fasta1325
reachc1330
seizec1374
beclipc1380
takea1387
span1398
to seize on or upon1399
getc1440
handc1460
to catch hold1520
to take hold1530
to lay hold (up)on, of1535
grasple1553
to have by the backa1555
handfast1562
apprehend1572
grapple1582
to clap hold of1583
comprehend1584
graspa1586
attach1590
gripple1591
engrasp1593
clum1594
to seize of1600
begriple1607
fast hold1611
impalm1611
fista1616
to set (one's) hand to1638
to get one's hands on1649
the world > movement > transference > [verb (transitive)] > pass with the hand > pass from hand to hand
band1580
bandya1599
passa1616
to hand about1660
to fist about1701
circulatec1793
to send round1839
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. v. 126 We haue beene downe together in my sleepe..fisting each others Throat. View more context for this quotation
1685 C. Cotton tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. I. 621 Neither is it [the Bible] a book for every one to fist.
1701 G. Farquhar Sir Harry Wildair ii. i. 11 I warrant they [salvers] were fisted about among his dirty Levee of Disbanded Officers?
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxxii. 409 We had to fist the sail with bare hands.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Fist, to handle a rope or sail promptly.
1870 H. Meade Ride New Zealand 356 To see me take off my coat and fist an oar.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > [verb]
to fist (a person) with1599
1599 Life Sir T. More in W. Wordsworth Eccl. Biog. II. 85 For all theire importunate pressinge of him they could by no means fist him with one penny thereof.
Derivatives
ˈfisting n. the action of the verb.
ΚΠ
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xix. 192 To the cholerike fisting of euery rogue, thy eare is lyable.
1705 E. Ward Hudibras Redivivus I. i. 11 Each Zealot's Purity consisting In bitter Words, and sometimes fisting.
Draft additions 1993
To form (the hand) into a fist; to clench (the fingers) (also with together). U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > hand > [verb (transitive)] > form (the hand) into a fist
fist1953
1953 C. A. Lindbergh Spirit of St. Louis vi. 236 I'd fisted my hands inside their mittens to keep the fingers warm.
a1963 S. Plath Crossing Water (1971) 17 In my well-boiled hospital shift..I roll to an anteroom where a kind man Fists my fingers for me.
1963 S. Plath Bell Jar ix. 115 Then I fisted my fingers together and smashed them at his nose.
1969 V. Nabokov Ada i. v. 39 He noticed Ada's trick of hiding her fingernails by fisting her hand.
Draft additions September 2003
transitive. coarse slang.
a. To stimulate (the penis) manually, as a means of sexual gratification.
ΚΠ
1972 B. Rodgers Queens' Vernacular 115 Hey, legs! There's a five in it if you fist it off for me!
1991 Independent on Sunday 19 May (Review Suppl.) 29/1 He gives his rent boy champagne, and has him stand naked and recite his sexual history while fisting his dick, his shlonger, his shvontz.
[see 'Implied in' only applies when the target is a quotation]. b. = fist-fuck v. 2.
ΚΠ
1977 QQ Mag. Apr. 33/1 There is no real safety in meeting someone at a bar, chatting for an hour, and then going home to bed with him to be fisted.
1997 E. White Farewell Symphony (1998) ii. 76 I'd dated my doctor, he'd even fisted me once on an afternoon on Fire Island when we were both stoned and bathed in a sea of grease.
2000 Village Voice (N.Y.) 18 Apr. 172 When one woman fists another, it is a defiant act—bold, outrageous, boundary-busting.
Draft additions September 2003
ˈfisting n. spec. (coarse slang), (a) male masturbation (rare); (b) = fist-fucking n. 2.
ΚΠ
c1890 My Secret Life VIII. 1546 After some violent fisting of his tool, he rose.
1975 Ciao! May–June b3/3 (advt.) Into ass play? We've got lots to share—rimming, dildoes, fisting, gang-bangs, enemas, you name it!
1991 A. Nikiforuk Fourth Horseman x. 170 The only thing revolutionary about promiscuity, fisting or rimming was that they exposed gay men to more blood, feces, bacteria, protozoa and viruses than any peasant encountered in Bangladesh.
2002 Diva Mar. 27 (advt.) Contains good advice on everything from g-spot stimulation to anal sex, vaginal fisting, and other favourite lesbian sex techniques.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† fistv.2
Obsolete.
intransitive. To break wind.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of breaking wind > break wind [verb (intransitive)]
fartOE
fistc1440
to let a scape1549
to break wind1552
crepitate1623
crack1653
poop1689
roar1897
poot1940
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 163/1 Fyistyn, cacco, lirido.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 549/1 Beware nowe thou fysthe nat.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Hiv/2 To Fyest, pedere.
1605 J. Marston Dutch Courtezan iv. v. G ij I must fiddle him till he fyst.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Vessir, to fyste, to let a fyste.
Derivatives
ˈfisting n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of breaking wind > [noun]
fistingc1000
fartingOE
cracka1387
crackaret1653
crepitation1822
crepitus1882
c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 162/43 Fesiculatio, fisting.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 163/1 Fyystynge, liridacio.
1527 L. Andrewe tr. H. Brunschwig Vertuose Boke Distyllacyon sig. Fij As with fystynge and shytyng.
ˈfister n. one who fists.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > action of breaking wind > [noun] > person
farter1234
fister1580
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Cest vn gros, vn grand vesseur, a great farter or fyster.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Venneur, a fizzler or fyster.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1a900
n.21440
v.1?a1300
v.2c1000