Etymologically
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thirsty

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 22:03. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˈθɝs.ti/[1]
  • UK: /ˈθɜːs.ti/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English thirsti, inherited from Old English þurstig, also þyrstig,[2][3][4][5] formed from þurst (“thirst”) with the adjective suffix -iġ, the ancestor of -y.[3][6][2] It has parallels in Old Saxon thurstig, Old High German durstag,[3][4][7] dorstig and durstig;[2][5][6] Merriam-Webster traces the English and Old High German words to one prehistoric West Germanic adjective.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Feeling the need to drink: the OED's first example is in the Lindisfarne Gospels, Matthew 25:35.[3] In Old English þurstig also meant "greedy, eager", and the figurative sense is quoted from King Alfred's translation of Boethius.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From people and animals the word passed to dry ground and plants that need water, first in the later Wycliffite Bible, about 1395.[3][4] Middle and early Modern English also had thirsting (late 14th century) and thirstful (late 15th century) in the same sense.[2] The sense "causing thirst", as in thirsty work, is recorded from 1599 and is now colloquial;[3] it was common in the dialects of Scotland, Yorkshire, Dorset and Devon, where a long walk or salty broth could be called thirsty.[8] Johnson (1755) gave the senses "suffering want of drink" and "possessed with a strong desire".[9] In the 1970s thirsty was applied to cars and engines that use a lot of fuel.[3][4] In American slang it meant desperate for drugs from 1992;[10] since the 2010s it has also meant craving attention, especially sexual attention.[10]

Timeline

  • Old English – þurstig, feeling thirst; also eager, greedy.[3][2]
  • c. 1395 – of ground or plants, dry, parched.[3]
  • 1599 – causing thirst.[3]
  • 1977 – of a vehicle or engine, using much fuel.[3]
  • 1992 – (US slang) desperate for drugs.[10]
  • 2014 – (US slang) eager for (sexual) attention.[10]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Feeling a need or wish to drink: After the hike we were tired and thirsty.
  2. Of land or plants: dry; in need of water.
  3. Having a strong desire for something; eager: a nation thirsty for change.
  4. (informal) Causing thirst: Digging the garden is thirsty work.
  5. Of a car or engine: using a lot of fuel.
  6. (slang) Desperate for attention or approval, especially sexual attention.

Word family

  • thirstily
  • thirstiness
  • bloodthirsty

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com