English

Etymology
Unknown. Theories include:
Old French nastre "bad, strange", shortened form of villenastre"infamous, bad", from vilein = "villain" + -astre (pejorative suffix, from Latin -aster).
Dutch nestig = "dirty", literally "like a bird's nest".
Old High German naz = "wet"
Likely reinforced by a Scandinavian source (compare Swedish dialect naskug = "dirty, nasty").
A hardened form of an old word "neshy" = "soft".
Modern usage of the word "nasty" is sometimes attributed to the very popular but often derogatory 19th Century American political cartoons of w:Thomas Nast|Thomas Nast.

Pronunciation
(RP)
*IPA|/�n��.sti/
audio|en-us-nasty.ogg|Audio (US)
*rhymes|��sti
(Australian English|AusE?)
*IPA|/�na�.sti/
*rhymes|��sti
(GenAm?)
*IPA|/�næs.ti/
*rhymes|æsti

Adjective
en-adj|nastier|nastiest

1. disgusting; physically repellent
2. indecent or offensive
3. malicious or spiteful

#:He tells nasty lies.

1. very unpleasant

#:It was a nasty night to venture out.

1. grave or dangerous

#:The cyclist had a nasty accident.

Noun
en-noun|nasties

1. something nasty

Related terms
video nasty
do the nasty

fr:nasty
io:nasty
it:nasty
ku:nasty
hu:nasty
ru:nasty
fi:nasty
ta:nasty
te:nasty
vi:nasty
zh:nasty

• 2007-10-02 15:05 - Interwicket - iwiki +ku, te

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