Must I observe you? must I stand and crouch
Under your testy humor? --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
I was displeased with myself; I was testy. --Latimer. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
testy — index fractious, perverse, petulant, querulous, spiteful Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
testy — c.1500, impetuous, rash, from M.E. testif headstrong (late 14c.), from Anglo Fr. testif, from O.Fr. testu stubborn, lit. heady, from teste head, from L.L. testa skull, in L. pot, shell (see TESTER (Cf. tester) (2)). Meaning … Etymology dictionary
testy — *irascible, choleric, splenetic, touchy, cranky, cross Analogous words: *irritable, peevish, snappish, waspish: hasty, sud den, impetuous (see PRECIPITATE): captious, carping, caviling, faultfinding (see CRITICAL) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
testy — [adj] irritable, touchy annoyed, badtempered, cantankerous, captious, choleric, crabbed, cranky*, cross, crotchety, edgy, exasperated, fretful, grouchy, grumpy*, impatient, irascible, mean, ornery*, out of sorts, peevish, peppery, petulant,… … New thesaurus
testy — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ easily irritated; irritable. DERIVATIVES testily adverb testiness noun. ORIGIN originally in the sense «headstrong, impetuous»: from Old French teste head … English terms dictionary
testy — [tes′tē] adj. testier, testiest [ME testif < Anglo Fr < OFr teste, the head < L testa: see TEST1] irritable; touchy; peevish testily adv. testiness n … English World dictionary
testy- — see testi … Useful english dictionary
testy — tes|ty [ˈtesti] adj [Date: 1300 1400; : Anglo French; Origin: testif determined to do what you want , from Old French teste head ] impatient and easily annoyed = ↑irritable ▪ testy remarks ▪ It had been a long day, and Sarah was getting a little… … Dictionary of contemporary English
testy — [14] Testy means etymologically ‘heady’. It was borrowed from Anglo Norman testif, a derivative of Old French teste ‘head’ (ancestor of modern French tête). This in turn went back to Latin testa ‘tile, earthenware pot’ (a relative of testum, from … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
testy — [[t]te̱sti[/t]] ADJ GRADED: usu v link ADJ If you describe someone as testy, you mean that they easily become impatient or angry. [mainly LITERARY] Ben s getting a little testy in his old age. Syn: crotchety Derived words: testily ADV GRADED ADV… … English dictionary
