feist

Origin: Earliest sense is “fart”, and later “stink” as abbreviation for fysting cur “stinking dog” (1520s). From (mid-15th century), from . Cognate with and . Possibly from , presumably from , though this is disputed. One explanation for the association of farting with small dogs is given in an 1811 slang dictionary, which suggests that the dogs were blamed for farting, specifically defining fice as “a small windy escape backwards, more obvious to the nose than ears; frequently by old ladies charged on their lap-dogs.” Cognate terms include , and , from ; originally “a term of reproach among northe. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).