wispyadj.
/ˈwɪspi/, U.S. /ˈwɪspi/ Consisting of or resembling a wisp or wisps. In early quots. with allusion to will-o'-the wisp.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [adjective] > indistinct
dimc1000
blinda1398
undistingued1398
obscure?a1450
undistinct1495
shadowed1588
undistinguishable1600
shady1626
blear1637
filmed1637
indistinguishable1642
crepusculous1646
adumbrated1650
oblite1650
faint1660
monogrammous1678
blurred1701
faintish1712
wispya1717
adumbrant1727
muzzy1744
indistinct1764
fuzzy1778
misty1797
shadowy1797
undistinguished1814
woolly1815
vague1822
furzy1825
mystified1833
slurred1843
feeble1860
smudginga1861
filmy1864
smudgy1865
blurry1884
slurry1937
the world > space > shape > condition of being long in relation to breadth > [adjective] > long narrow piece > slight or thin
wispya1717
wispish1896
a1717 T. Parnell Fairy Tale xxvii Will, who bears the wispy fire To trail the swains among the mire.
1830 T. Aird in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 817 Miriam saw white wispy fires dance.
1830 T. Aird Captive of Fez ii. 96 The skirring moon..from her horntips tossed the wispy rack.
1839 J. Wilson in J. Hamilton Mem. (1859) vi. 208 These [cribs of the Cameleopards] are..filled with a dry wispy-looking plant, neither hay nor clover.
1888 F. Cowper Caedwalla 141 A few locks of wispy hair hung down over the forehead.
1894 Athenæum 24 Nov. 719 Nebulous matter, which..attaches itself to the..stars and is of a wispy and streaky nature.
Derivatives
ˈwispily adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > types of hair > [adverb] > wispy
wispily1923
1923 A. Huxley Antic Hay 30 His long grey hair floated wispily about his head.
1985 M. Wesley Harnessing Peacocks ix. 76 His hair hung wispily round his collar.
Draft additions 1993
ˈwispiness n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > types of hair > [noun] > wispy
wispiness1961
1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. 2625/2 Wispiness.
1977 Washington Post 30 Oct. f3/6 One long braid down the back of the head with not much concern for controlling all the wispiness in front.
1991 Hair Flair Jan. 65/3 We're moving away from wispiness towards more solid lines (but not blunt geometrics).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.a1717