fist

In Middle English, a fisting hound or fist was a small dog — specifically a lapdog, the kind that sat on your lap and occasionally broke wind. The word fist in this sense came from the Old English verb fīstan, meaning to break wind. A fisting dog was a farting dog. Not a fighter. Not a scrapper. A gassy little pet.

By the 1800s in American English, the word had become feist or fice, describing a small, yappy, aggressive mutt — the kind of dog that weighs eight pounds and believes it can fight a bear. These dogs were not valued by hunters or farmers. They were nuisances. But they had a quality that people couldn't help noticing: they never backed down from anything, regardless of size or sense.

The adjective feisty appeared in American dialect around 1896, transferring the quality of those small aggressive dogs to people. A feisty person was quarrelsome, touchy, full of fight. The flatulence connection was gone. The smallness remained — feisty almost always describes someone smaller or weaker than their opponent, someone punching up.

The transformation is remarkable. A word that began as a euphemism for a dog's digestive issues became a compliment. Calling someone feisty in the 21st century is usually meant as praise, though it carries a faint condescension — feisty is rarely applied to anyone with actual power. It is reserved for grandmothers, small children, and underdogs. The lapdog heritage shows.