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fist - 11 dictionary results
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fist

1  [fist]
Use fist in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE fȳst; c. G Faust fist; perh. akin to five

fist

2  [fahyst]
–noun
feist.

feist

  [fahyst]
–noun
1. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. a small mongrel dog, esp. one that is ill-tempered; cur; mutt.
–verb (used without object)
2. South Midland U.S. to prance or strut about: Look at him feist around in his new clothes.
Also, fice, fist.

Origin:
1760–70; cf. (from 16th cent.) fisting hound, fisting cur, as contemptuous epithets for any kind of dog (prp. of fist to break wind, late ME; cf. OE fisting breaking wind, MLG vīst, G Fist fart); (def. 2) perh. back formation from feisty

in⋅dex

  [in-deks] noun, plural -dex⋅es, -di⋅ces  [-duh-seez] , verb
–noun
1. (in a nonfiction book, monograph, etc.) a more or less detailed alphabetical listing of names, places, and topics along with the numbers of the pages on which they are mentioned or discussed, usually included in or constituting the back matter.
2. a sequential arrangement of material, esp. in alphabetical or numerical order.
3. something used or serving to point out; a sign, token, or indication: a true index of his character.
4. something that directs attention to some fact, condition, etc.; a guiding principle.
5. a pointer or indicator in a scientific instrument.
6. a piece of wood, metal, or the like, serving as a pointer or indicator.
7. Computers.
a. a value that identifies and is used to locate a particular element within a data array or table.
b. a reference table that contains the keys or references needed to address data items.
8. Also called fist, hand. Printing. a sign in the shape of a hand with extended index finger, used to point out a particular note, paragraph, etc.
9. a light, smooth cardboard stock.
10. the forefinger.
11. a number or formula expressing some property, ratio, etc., of something indicated: index of growth; index of intelligence.
12. Statistics. index number.
13. Economics. price index.
14. Algebra.
a. an exponent.
b. the integer n in a radical defining the n-th root: ∛ is a radical having index three.
c. a subscript or superscript indicating the position of an object in a series of similar objects, as the subscripts 1, 2, and 3 in the series x1, x2, x3.
d. winding number.
15. Horology. a leverlike regulator for a hairspring.
16. (initial capital letter) Roman Catholic Church.
a. Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
b. Index Expurgatorius.
17. (usually initial capital letter) any list of forbidden or otherwise restricted material deemed morally or politically harmful by authorities: an Index of disapproved books relating to Communism.
18. Optics. index of refraction.
19. Obsolete.
a. a table of contents.
b. a preface or prologue.
–verb (used with object)
20. to provide with an index, as a book.
21. to enter in an index, as a name or topic.
22. to serve to indicate: warm breezes indexing the approach of spring.
23. to place (a book) on an official list as politically or morally harmful: The commissar insisted on indexing the book.
24. to rotate (work) on a milling machine in order to repeat the milling operation at a new position.
25. Economics. to adjust (wages, taxes, etc.) automatically according to changes in the cost-of-living level or another economic indicator, esp. to offset inflation.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L: informer, pointer, equiv. to in- in- 2 + -dec- (comb. form of dic-, show, declare, indicate; akin to teach ) + -s nom. sing. ending

Related forms:
in⋅dex⋅a⋅ble, adjective
in⋅dex⋅er, noun
in⋅dex⋅i⋅cal, adjective
in⋅dex⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
in⋅dex⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fist
fist   (fĭst)   
n.  
  1. The hand closed tightly with the fingers bent against the palm.
  2. Informal A grasp; a clutch: had a fortune in their fists and let it go.
  3. Printing See index.
tr.v.   fist·ed, fist·ing, fists
  1. To clench into a fist.
  2. To grasp with the fist.
  3. Vulgar To insert the fist into the rectum or vagina of (another) as a means of sexual stimulation.

[Middle English, from Old English fȳst; see penkwe in Indo-European roots.]
in·dex   (ĭn'děks')   
n.   pl. in·dex·es or in·di·ces (-dĭ-sēz')
  1. Something that serves to guide, point out, or otherwise facilitate reference, especially:
    1. An alphabetized list of names, places, and subjects treated in a printed work, giving the page or pages on which each item is mentioned.
    2. A thumb index.
    3. A table, file, or catalog.
    4. Computer Science A list of keywords associated with a record or document, used especially as an aid in searching for information.
    5. Mathematics A number or symbol, often written as a subscript or superscript to a mathematical expression, that indicates an operation to be performed, an ordering relation, or a use of the associated expression.
    6. A number derived from a formula, used to characterize a set of data.
  2. Something that reveals or indicates; a sign: "Her face . . . was a fair index to her disposition" (Samuel Butler).
  3. A character () used in printing to call attention to a particular paragraph or section. Also called fist, hand.
  4. An indicator or pointer, as on a scientific instrument.
    1. Mathematics A number or symbol, often written as a subscript or superscript to a mathematical expression, that indicates an operation to be performed, an ordering relation, or a use of the associated expression.
    2. A number derived from a formula, used to characterize a set of data.
  6. A number that represents the change in price or value of an aggregate of goods, services, wages, or other measurable quantity in comparison with a reference number for a previous period of time.
  7. Index Roman Catholic Church A list formerly published by Church authority, restricting or forbidding the reading of certain books.
tr.v.   in·dexed, in·dex·ing, in·dex·es
  1. To furnish with an index: index a book.
  2. To enter in an index.
  3. To indicate or signal.
  4. To adjust through indexation.

[Middle English, forefinger, from Latin; see deik- in Indo-European roots.]
in'dex'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Fist

Fist\, n. [OE. fist, fust, AS. f?st; akin to D. vuist, OHG. f?st, G. faust, and prob. to L. pugnus, Gr. ? fist, ? with the fist. Cf. Pugnacious, Pigmy.]

1. The hand with the fingers doubled into the palm; the closed hand, especially as clinched tightly for the purpose of striking a blow.

Who grasp the earth and heaven with my fist. --Herbert.

2. The talons of a bird of prey. [Obs.]

More light than culver in the falcon's fist. --Spenser.

3. (print.) the index mark [[hand]], used to direct special attention to the passage which follows.

Hand over fist (Naut.), rapidly; hand over hand.

Fist

Fist\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fisting.]

1. To strike with the fist. --Dryden.

2. To gripe with the fist. [Obs.] --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : fist
Spanish: puño,
German: die Faust,
Japanese: こぶし
More Translations »

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 ult. from PIE *pengke "five" (cf. O.C.S. pesti, Rus. piasti "fist"). Fisticuff is first recorded 1605, from fist + cuff (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: fist
Pronunciation: 'fist
Function: noun
: the hand clenched with the fingers doubled into the palm and the thumb doubled inward across thefingers
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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fist

see hand over fist.

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