n. Chiefly Southern U.S.
A small mongrel dog.
[Variant of obsolete fist, short for fisting dog, from Middle English fisting, a blowing, breaking wind, from Old English fīsting.]
REGIONAL NOTE Feist, also fice, is one of several regional terms for a small mixed-breed dog. Used throughout the Midland and Southern states, feist connotes a snappy, nervous, belligerent little dog-hence the derived adjective feisty, meaning "touchy, quarrelsome, or spirited," applicable to animals and to people. Although feist remains a regional word, feisty has now entered standard usage throughout the United States.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
