nasty

From Middle English nasty, nasti, naxty, naxte (“unclean, filthy”), whence also Early Modern English nasky (“nasty”), of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots nastie, nestie (“dirty, filthy”). Probably from earlier Middle English *naskty, *naskedy, from Middle English *nasked (“dirty, messy”) + -y, ultimately of North Germanic origin related to Danish nasket (“dirty, foul, unpleasant”), Swedish naskot (“dirty, filthy”), Swedish naskig, naskug (“nasty, dirty, messy”).[1] Likely doublet of nesh and nosh.

Alternative theories have also been proposed, which include:

• From Low German nask (“nasty”) +‎ -y.
• From Old French nastre (“bad, strange”), shortened form of villenastre (“infamous, bad”), from vilein (“villain”) + -astre (pejorative suffix), from Latin -aster.[2]
• Middle Dutch nestich, nistich ("nasty, dirty, unpleasant" > Modern Dutch nestig (“dirty, filthy, unclean”)), perhaps ultimately connected to the Scandinavian word above.[1][3]
• Other suggestions include Old High German naz (“wet”), hardening of English nesh(y) (“soft”), or alteration of English naughty.
• Modern use of the word is sometimes attributed to the popular and often derogatory 19th century American political cartoons of Thomas Nast, but the word predates him.

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈnaː.sti/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈnɑː.sti/
  • Rhymes: -ɑːsti
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈnæs.ti/

  Audio (US)

  (file)

  • Rhymes: -æsti

nasty (comparative nastier, superlative nastiest)

1. (now chiefly US) Dirty, filthy. [from 14th c.]
   • 1651, Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan:

     In such condition, there is no place for Industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by Sea; no commodious Building; no Instruments of moving, and removing such things as require much force; no Knowledge of the face of the Earth; no account of Time; no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continuall feare, and danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short.

   • 2006, Marie Fontaine, The Chronicles of my Ghetto Street Volume One, page 156:

     I really don't have any friends at school Mama Mia. They talk about me all the time. They say my hair's nappy and my clothes are nasty.

2. Contemptible, unpleasant (of a person). [from 15th c.]
   • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:

     Jonathan kept staring at him, till I was afraid he would notice. I feared he might take it ill, he looked so fierce and nasty.

3. Objectionable, unpleasant (of a thing); repellent, offensive. [from 16th c.]
   • 1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:

     ‘It's a nasty trade,’ said Mr. Limbkins, when Gamfield had again stated his wish.

4. Indecent or offensive; obscene, lewd. [from 17th c.]
   • 1933, Dorothy L Sayers, Murder Must Advertise:

     He said to Mr. Tallboy he thought the headline was a bit hot. And Mr. Tallboy said he had a nasty mind.

   • 2009, Okera H, Be Your Priority, Not His Option, Mill City Press, published 2009, page 45:

     We want threesomes, blowjobs, and orgies. That's just the way it is. We want the good girl who's nasty in bed.

5. Spiteful, unkind. [from 19th c.]
   • 2012 June 3, The Guardian:

     She had said: "I love the block button on Twitter. I don't know how people expect to send a nasty comment and not get blocked."

6. (chiefly UK) Awkward, difficult to navigate; dangerous. [from 19th c.]
   • 2007 August 5, The Observer:

     There was a nasty period during the First World War when the family's allegiance was called into question - not least because one of the Schroders had been made a baron by the Kaiser.

7. (chiefly UK) Grave or dangerous (of an accident, illness etc.). [from 19th c.]
   • 2012 March 2, James Ball, The Guardian:

     Moving into the middle ages, William the Conqueror managed to rout the English and rule the country, then see off numerous plots and assassination attempts, before his horse did for him in a nasty fall, killing him at 60.

8. (slang, chiefly US) Formidable, terrific; wicked. [from 20th c.]
   • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 15:

     "Well," she grinned, looking hot and sexy. "They say you doing some real nasty shit in the NBA, but on the mic you a little too competitive. They say you a gaming niggah who likes to keep up all kinds of go-to-war gangsta friction between rappers. That shit must work for you though, huh? You stickin' all over the charts when other artists are failin' off. They rotating your cuts on the radio like mad too."

nasty (plural nasties)

1. (informal) Something nasty.

   Processed foods are full of aspartame and other nasties.

   This video game involves flying through a maze zapping various nasties.

   • 1981 August 1, Ron Vachon, “To Your Health”, in Gay Community News, page 13:

     I also urge the regular visual examination of the rectum (anoscopy) for people who engage in rectal sex, for the early detection of rectal warts, hemorrhoids, fissures — all those rectal nasties.

2. (euphemistic, slang, preceded by "the") Sexual intercourse.
3. A video nasty.
   • 1984, ThirdWay, volume 7, number 5, page 17:

     In this way, it is hoped that the nasties will be dealt with, and the remainder regularized.

   • 2014, mark Bernard, Selling the Splat Pack: The DVD Revolution and the American Horror Film:

     Jones evokes the nasties discursively to brand the Splat Pack as 'authentic outlaws'.

• do the nasty
• video nasty

• Ansty, Santy, Tansy, Yants, antsy, tansy