thirstyadj.
/ˈθəːsti/, U.S. /ˈθərsti/ 1.
a. Having the sensation of thirst; feeling desire or craving for drink.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > [adjective]
thirstyc950
ofthirstOE
athirstc1305
thirstinga1382
dry1406
thirstlewc1425
altered1596
adry1599
droughty1626
chapped1673
bone-dry1920
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxv. 35 Ic wæs ðyrstig and ge saldon me dringe.
c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) lxi[i]. 4 Wide urnon; þurstige muðe.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6163 Forr þe birrþ fedenn hunngriȝ mann. & þrisstiȝ gifenn drinnke.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1020 Suld he neuer thresti [Fairf. þristy, Gött. thristi, Trin. Cambr. Fursti] be.
c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 7 Þe þorste ȝif dryng.
c1440 Alphabet of Tales 460 Hym thoght in his slepe þat hym was passand thrustie.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xxii. 66 I fele my selfe nother hungry nor thrusty.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) v. 27 Quhen ve ar thirsty ve seik drynk.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. x. sig. K2 His office was, the hungry for to feed, And thristy giue to drinke.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals v, in tr. Virgil Wks. 21 The thirsty Cattle..abstain'd From Water.
a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 78 The Fountain being..very inviting to the thirsty passenger.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 319 The thirsty one, in that he thirsts, desires only drink.
b. transferred. Of earth or plants: Greatly wanting moisture; dry, parched, arid.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > wild or uncultivated land > [adjective] > barren or desert > waterless
thirstya1425
carbuncled1577
unwatered1600
arid1656
starkc1740
thirstful1865
dry land1893
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Isa. xxxv. 7 That that was drie, is maad in to a poond, and the thirsti..in to wellis of watris.
1471 G. Ripley Compound of Alchymy iii. iv, in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chem. Britannicum (1652) 140 Dry up thyne Erth tyll hyt be thrysty.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 80v The salt, bitter, and thyrstie grounde.
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxxiv. 81 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 98 Thou wondrously didst cause..From thirsty flynt a fountayne flow.
1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes (new ed.) I. i. xxii. 16 The tawny lion reigns Fierce on his native Afric's thirsty plains.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 254 The country was parched and thirsty.
2.
a. figurative. Having or characterized by a vehement desire or craving; eager, greedy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > strong or eager desire > [adjective] > craving
thirstyc888
ofthirstOE
hungryc1200
athirsta1387
hydropicc1400
anhungered?1556
sharp-set1580
hydropical1656
esurienta1672
craving1688
thirstful1865
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xii Swa swylgð seo gitsung þa dreosendan welan..forþam hio hiora simle bið þurstegu.
c1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 56 It semys bettir þat þe eres of þe folk be thristy to þe wordes of þe kyng.
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. i. i. 17 The thirstie desire of the people..to heare the word of God.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 118 When the thirsty fire had drunk Their vital Blood. View more context for this quotation
1760 B. Franklin Let. 13 Sept. in Exper. & Observ. Electr. (1769) 455 She has a mind thirsty after knowledge.
1831 C. Lamb Newspapers 35 Years Ago in Elia 2nd Ser. Refreshing to the thirsty curiosity of the traveller.
b. Of a motor vehicle, engine, etc.: that has a high fuel-consumption rate.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [adjective] > of or relating to motor vehicles > having high fuel consumption
thirsty1977
1977 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 125 364/1 Larger and quieter aeroplanes and less thirsty engines.
1980 Daily Tel. 9 July 12/5 It should..appeal to motorists wishing to move up from the normal run of mass-produced saloons without..running a bigger and thirstier model.
3. transferred. That causes thirst. (Now colloquial.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > [adjective] > causing thirst
thirsty1599
1599 E. Sandys Europæ Speculum (1632) 152 Troubled with the dropsie..caused..or accompanied with a thirstie infirmitie.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) i. ii. 122 Our Natures doe pursue Like Rats that rauyn downe their proper Bane, A thirsty euill, and when we drinke, we die. View more context for this quotation
1812 W. Tennant Anster Fair iv. xlviii. 90 Slices of the thirsty ham.
1897 F. T. Jane Lordship i. 2 A thirsty walk up and down terrible bad roads.
1912 N.E.D. at Thirsty Mod. Thirsty weather and thirsty work.
Compounds
thirsty-cupped, thirsty-looking adjs.; thirsty frog, thirsty snake n. see quots.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Ophidia (snakes) > [noun] > member of (snake) > group of venomous snakes > venomous snake
deaf addereOE
adderOE
aspidec1000
shadow-addera1382
chelydre1393
tyre1471
viper1526
seps?1527
aspic1530
thirsty snake1567
aspworm1587
cheliderect?1590
viper-worm1605
palmer-serpent1608
polonga1681
asp1710
thirst-serpent1731
venom-snake1845
thanatophidian1891
solenoglyph1913
the world > animals > amphibians > order Anura or Salienta (frogs and toads) > [noun] > types of frog or toad > suborder Diplasiocoela > family Ranidae (common frogs) > member of genus Rana
shad-frog1791
thirsty frog1802
wrestler frog1892
Goliath1931
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 70v There is..fiue kindes of Aspis. The first named Dipsas in Greeke, in Latine Situla, Thristie Snake.
1802 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. III. 115 Thirsty Frog, Rana Sitibunda..Native of desert places about the river Ural:..has the habit of a toad.
1875 S. Lanier Symphony in Poems 132 Marsh-plants, thirsty-cupped for rains.
1912 N.E.D. at Thirsty Mod. A thirsty-looking man standing outside a public-house.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.c888