nasty

nasty
nasty (adj.) c.1400, "foul, filthy, dirty, unclean," of unknown origin; perhaps [Barnhart] from O.Fr. nastre "miserly, envious, malicious, spiteful," shortened form of villenastre "infamous, bad," from vilein "villain" + -astre, pejorative suffix, from L. -aster. Alternative etymology [OED] is from Du. nestig "dirty," lit. "like a bird's nest." Likely reinforced in either case by a Scandinavian source (Cf. Swed. dialectal naskug "dirty, nasty"), which also might be the source of the Middle English word. Of weather, from 1630s; of things generally, "unpleasant, offensive," from 1705. Of people, "ill-tempered," from 1825. Noun meaning "something nasty" is from 1935. Related: Nastily; nastiness.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Nasty — Single par Janet Jackson extrait de l’album Control Face B You ll Never Find (A Love Like Mine) Sortie 15 Avril 1986 Enregistrement septembre 1985 Flyte …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nasty — may refer to: Nasty (song), by Janet Jackson Nasty (album), by Cameo Nasty (The Young Ones), an episode of The Young Ones Nasty , a song by The Damned, created for the Young Ones episode, released as a B side of the single Thanks for the Night… …   Wikipedia

  • Nasty — Nas ty (n[.a]s t[y^]), a. [Compar. {Nastier} (n[.a]s t[i^]*[ e]r); superl. {Nastiest}.] [For older nasky; cf. dial. Sw. naskug, nasket.] 1. Offensively filthy; very dirty, foul, or defiled; disgusting; nauseous. [1913 Webster] 2. Hence, loosely:… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nasty — [adj1] disgusting, offensive awful, beastly, bum*, dirty, disagreeable, fierce, filthy, foul, gross, grubby, hellish, horrible, horrid, icky*, impure, loathsome, lousy, malodorous, mephitic, murderous*, nauseating, noisome, noxious, objectionable …   New thesaurus

  • nasty — [nas′tē] adj. nastier, nastiest [ME < ? or akin to Du nestig, dirty] 1. very dirty, filthy 2. offensive in taste or smell; nauseating 3. morally offensive; indecent 4. very unpleasant; objectionable [nasty weather] …   English World dictionary

  • nasty — ► ADJECTIVE (nastier, nastiest) 1) unpleasant, disgusting, or repugnant. 2) spiteful, violent, or bad tempered. 3) likely to cause or having caused harm; dangerous or serious: a nasty bang on the head. ► NOUN (pl. nasties) informal ▪ …   English terms dictionary

  • nasty — index bad (offensive), bitter (penetrating), harmful, heinous, loathsome, malignant, objectionable …   Law dictionary

  • nasty — *dirty, filthy, squalid, foul Analogous words: *coarse, gross, vulgar, obscene, ribald: tainted, contaminated, polluted, defiled (see CONTAMINATE): indelicate, indecent, unseemly, improper, *indecorous …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • -nasty — [nas′tē] combining form forming nouns a condition of plant growth by a (specified) means or in a (specified) direction [epinasty] …   English World dictionary

  • nasty — nas|ty S2 [ˈna:sti US ˈnæsti] adj comparative nastier superlative nastiest ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(behaviour)¦ 2¦(person)¦ 3¦(experience/situation)¦ 4¦(sight/smell etc)¦ 5¦(injury/illness)¦ 6¦(substance)¦ 7 a nasty piece of work ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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