thirsty English · revision 39955

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=Old English, Lindisfarne Gospels}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈθɝs.ti/^(Wiktionary)

+ * UK: /ˈθɜːs.ti/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|thirsti]], [[inh|ang|þurstig]], also [[m|ang|þyrstig]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Dictionary.com 2016) formed from [[m|ang|þurst|t=thirst]] with the adjective suffix [[m|ang|-iġ]], the ancestor of [[-y]].^(OED 2026)^(Klein 1966)^(Etymonline) It has parallels in [[osx|thurstig]], [[goh|durstag]],^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) [[m|nl|dorstig]] and [[m|de|durstig]];^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(Klein 1966) Merriam-Webster traces the English and Old High German words to one prehistoric West Germanic adjective.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Feeling the need to drink: the OED's first example is in the Lindisfarne Gospels, Matthew 25:35.^(OED 2026) In Old English ''þurstig'' also meant "greedy, eager", and the figurative sense is quoted from King Alfred's translation of Boethius.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==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.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) Middle and early Modern English also had ''thirsting'' (late 14th century) and ''thirstful'' (late 15th century) in the same sense.^(Etymonline) The sense "causing thirst", as in ''thirsty work'', is recorded from 1599 and is now colloquial;^(OED 2026) it was common in the dialects of Scotland, Yorkshire, Dorset and Devon, where a long walk or salty broth could be called ''thirsty''.^(Wright 1898) Johnson (1755) gave the senses "suffering want of drink" and "possessed with a strong desire".^(Johnson 1755) In the 1970s ''thirsty'' was applied to cars and engines that use a lot of fuel.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) In American slang it meant desperate for drugs from 1992;^(GDoS) since the 2010s it has also meant craving attention, especially sexual attention.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Old English – ''þurstig'', feeling thirst; also eager, greedy.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1395 – of ground or plants, dry, parched.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1599 – causing thirst.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1977 – of a vehicle or engine, using much fuel.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1992 – (US slang) desperate for drugs.^(GDoS)

+ * 2014 – (US slang) eager for (sexual) attention.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Feeling a need or wish to [[drink]]: ''After the hike we were tired and thirsty.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Of land or plants: dry; in need of [[water]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Having a strong [[desire]] for something; [[eager]]: ''a nation thirsty for change''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (informal) Causing thirst: ''Digging the garden is thirsty work.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # Of a car or engine: using a lot of [[fuel]].^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+ # (slang) Desperate for attention or approval, especially sexual attention.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[thirstily]]

+ * [[thirstiness]]

+ * [[bloodthirsty]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[thirst]]

+ * [[dry]]

+ * [[torrid]]

+ * [[toast]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}