What does feist mean?
A feist is a small, tough, mixed-breed dog, historically prized in the American South and Appalachian regions as a hunting companion for treeing squirrels, rats, and other small game. Compact, alert, and famously tenacious, feists are working dogs rather than show dogs, and breeds such as the mountain feist and treeing feist remain popular with hunters today. The word carries connotations of grit and scrappiness rather than refinement — a feist is admired precisely because it punches above its weight. The term is chiefly regional American and informal in register, though it appears in breed names and hunting literature nationwide. Its lasting gift to the language is the adjective 'feisty,' which preserves the dog's pugnacious spirit in describing people and animals alike. Knowing the word connects everyday speech to a distinctive strand of American rural culture.
nounA small mongrel or mixed-breed dog, especially one of a kind traditionally kept for hunting small game such as squirrels and rats; by extension, any spirited, feisty little dog.
- A small mixed-breed hunting dog kept for treeing squirrels and other small game.
- Any small, spirited dog; figuratively, a plucky or irritable little creature.
"The old feist treed the squirrel in minutes, barking until the hunters caught up."
"His mountain feist could scent a squirrel from across the hollow."
"Don't let her size fool you — that little feist has the temper of a much bigger dog."
Standard regular plural.
"Both feists were trained to tree raccoons at night."
This scrappy little squirrel-hunting dog gave English one of its favorite adjectives: without the feist, there would be no 'feisty.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of feist
'Feist' descends from 'fisting hound' or 'fysting curre,' a term for a worthless, bad-smelling little dog found in Middle English, ultimately rooted in the Middle English verb 'fisten,' meaning to break wind. The word crossed to America, where settlers in the South applied it to the small hunting dogs they bred, shedding the older pejorative overtones in favor of respect for the dogs' working ability. Its cousin 'feisty' developed in nineteenth-century American English from the same source, first meaning aggressive or touchy before softening into today's sense of lively and spirited.
Related word forms
How feist is actually used
The word is chiefly American, strongest in the rural South and Appalachians where feists are still bred as working dogs; it is informal to neutral in register. In modern usage it is largely confined to discussions of dogs, as its figurative energy has passed almost entirely into the derivative adjective 'feisty.'
Easily confused with feist
A feist is a small hunting dog, while feisty is the adjective meaning spirited or aggressive that was derived from that dog's name.