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nasty

Etymology and origin of the English word nasty

History Permalink
Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
c. 1390

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈnɑː.sti/ (UK); /ˈnæs.ti/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English nasti, of uncertain origin.[2][3][4][5] Barnhart proposes Old French nastre (“bad, spiteful”), short for villenastre, infamous, from vilein (see villain) and the pejorative -astre, perhaps reinforced by a Scandinavian word;[6][2] Hoad and the Middle English Compendium point to Swedish dialect naskug, nasket, dirty, through early variants naxty and naskie;[3][2] the OED mentions Dutch nestig, dirty, like a bird's nest.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Disgustingly dirty, foul: about 1390 in Barnhart, before 1400 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline.[6][7][2]

Semantic evolution

Indecent or obscene, morally filthy, is from about 1600,[2][7] and offensive to taste or smell from before 1548.[7] Of weather, foul or stormy, it is from the 1630s,[2][7] unpleasant or troublesome generally from 1705,[2][7] and of persons, ill-tempered or mean, from 1825.[2] Word Origins notes that the word's force has gradually weakened, though it remains stronger in American than British English;[8] De Vere wrote in 1872 that in America it was not fit to be used before ladies.[2] The noun, an unpleasant thing or person, is from 1935;[2] SOED also records nasty for a Nazi in the mid-20th century.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1390 – filthy.[6]
  • before 1548 – nauseating.[7]
  • c. 1600 – obscene.[2]
  • 1630s – of weather.[2]
  • 1705 – unpleasant generally.[2][7]
  • 1825 – ill-natured.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Very unpleasant or offensive: a nasty smell.
  2. Unkind, spiteful or bad-tempered.
  3. Dangerous or serious: a nasty wound.
  4. Indecent or obscene.

Noun

  1. (informal) An unpleasant person or thing: video nasties.

Word family

  • nastily
  • nastiness

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Nasty.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/nasty. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·