Nasty
WordNet
adjective
(1) Disgustingly dirty; filled or smeared with offensive matter
"As filthy as a pigsty"
"A foul pond"
"A nasty pigsty of a room"
(2) Characterized by obscenity
"Had a filthy mouth"
"Foul language"
"Smutty jokes"
(3) Exasperatingly difficult to handle or circumvent
"A nasty problem"
"A good man to have on your side in a tight situation"
(4) Offensive or even (of persons) malicious
"In a nasty mood"
"A nasty accident"
"A nasty shock"
"A nasty smell"
"A nasty trick to pull"
"Will he say nasty things at my funeral?"- Ezra Pound
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Unknown. Theories include:
- Old French nastre = "bad, strange", shortened form of villenastre ="infamous, bad", from vilein = "villain" + -astre (pejorative suffix, from Latin -aster).
- Dutch nestig = "dirty", literally "like a bird's nest".
- Old High German naz = "wet"
- Likely reinforced by a Scandinavian source (compare Swedish dialect naskug = "dirty, nasty").
- A hardened form of an old word "neshy" = "soft".
- Modern usage of the word "nasty" is sometimes attributed to the very popular but often derogatory 19th Century American political cartoons of Thomas Nast.
Adjective
- disgusting; physically repellent
- indecent or offensive
- malicious or spiteful
- He tells nasty lies.
- very unpleasant
- It was a nasty night to venture out.
- grave or dangerous
- The cyclist had a nasty accident.
Noun
- Something nasty.
- Sexual intercourse.