Added 9 October 2026
nasty
/ˈnaː.sti/ adjective
In Latin: paedidus Wiktionary
adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about nasty at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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Offensive or even (of persons) malicious.
in a nasty mood
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Exasperatingly difficult to handle or circumvent.
a nasty problem
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Characterized by obscenity.
had a filthy mouth
Origin
From Middle English nasty, nasti, naxty, naxte (“unclean, filthy”), whence also Early Modern English nasky (“nasty”), of obscure origin. Probably from earlier Middle English *naskty, *naskedy, from Middle English *nasked (“dirty, messy”) + -y, ultimately of North Germanic origin (comparable to Danish nasket (“dirty, foul, unpleasant”), Swedish naskot (“dirty, filthy”), Swedish naskig, naskug (“nasty, dirty, messy”)), themselves all probably related to Proto-Germanic *hnaskuz (“tender, soft”). Likely doublet of nesh and nosh. Cognate with Scots nastie, nestie (“dirty, filthy”). Alternative theories have also been proposed, which include: * From Low German nask (“nasty”) + -y.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)