English
fist
Fist comes from Middle English fist, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *fūsti.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fūstireconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fȳst
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fist
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fūstireconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fȳst
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fist
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto VII: “More light then Culver in the Faulcons fist.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- ‘to punch’
point, fuck, punch, pivot, poignant, puncture, pungent, repugnant, pygmy, punto, punctuate, compunction, pugnacious, impugn, pugilist, 41 more
Another origin of fist
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*fistanreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fisten
- Englishtodayfist
Today it means
noun A hand with the fingers clenched or curled inward.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *fūsti / fist