feist

feist  (fst) also fice (fs)

n. Chiefly Southern U.S.

A small mongrel dog.

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[Variant of obsolete fist, short for fisting dog, from Middle English fisting, a blowing, breaking wind, from Old English fsting; see pezd- in Indo-European roots.]

Regional Note: Feist, also fice, is one of several regional terms for a small mixed-breed dog. Used throughout the Midland and Southern states, feist connotes a snappy, nervous, belligerent little doghence the derived adjective feisty, meaning "touchy, quarrelsome, or spirited," applicable to animals and to people. Although feist remains a regional word, feisty has now entered standard usage throughout the United States.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

feist - a nervous belligerent little mongrel dog fice cur, mutt, mongrel - an inferior dog or one of mixed breed