Nearby Words

fist

[fist] Origin

fist

1[fist]
noun
1.
the hand closed tightly, with the fingers doubled into the palm.
2.
Informal. the hand.
3.
Informal. a person's handwriting.
4.
Printing. index (def. 8).
verb (used with object)
5.
to make (one's hand) into a fist.
6.
to grasp in the fist.

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Fist is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English fȳst; cognate with German Faust fist; perhaps akin to five
Dictionary.com Unabridged

fist

2[fahyst]
noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
fist (fɪst)
 
n
1.  a hand with the fingers clenched into the palm, as for hitting
2.  Also called: fistful the quantity that can be held in a fist or hand
3.  hand an informal word for index
 
vb
4.  (tr) to hit with the fist
 
[Old English fӯst; related to Old Frisian fest, Old Saxon, Old High German fūst; see five]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fist
O.E. fyst, from W.Gmc. *fustiz (cf. O.H.G. fust, O.Fris. fest, M.Du. vuust, Ger. Faust), from P.Gmc. *fukhstiz, probably ultimately from PIE *pengke "five" (cf. O.C.S. pesti, Rus. piasti "fist").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

fist

see hand over fist.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Idioms & Phrases
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