WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
feist
(fīst),USA pronunciation n.
v.i.
- Dialect Terms[Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.]a small mongrel dog, esp. one that is ill-tempered;
cur;
mutt.
v.i.
- Dialect Terms[South Midland U.S.]to prance or strut about:Look at him feist around in his new clothes.
- 1760–70; compare (from 16th cent.) fisting hound, fisting cur, as contemptuous epithets for any kind of dog (present participle of fist to break wind, late Middle English; compare Old English fisting breaking wind, Middle Low German vīst, German Fist fart); (def. 2) perh. back formation from feisty
'feist' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):