misty

See also: Misty

English

A misty morning

Etymology

From Middle English misty, mysty, misti, from Old English mistiġ (“misty, dark”), from Proto-West Germanic *mistig (“misty”), equivalent to mist +‎ -y. Cognate with Scots misty, mistie (“misty”), West Frisian mistich (“misty, foggy”), Dutch mistig (“misty, foggy”), German Low German mistig (“foggy”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɪsti/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪsti

Adjective

misty (comparative mistier, superlative mistiest)

1. Covered in mist; foggy.

   It's very misty this morning; I can't see a thing!

2. (figuratively) Dim; vague; obscure.

   a misty memory of his childhood

   • 1861, E. J. Guerin, Mountain Charley, page 10:

     My remembrances of the place and its people are misty — all about it seem more like something I once saw in a dream, but whose characters time has effaced.

3. (figuratively) With tears in the eyes; dewy-eyed.

   Her eyes grew misty the night her long-time friend passed away.

Derived terms

• get misty
• mistily
• misty-eyed
• misty flip
• misty rose

 

Related terms

• mistify
• mistiness

Translations

with mist; foggy

• Bulgarian: мъглив (bg) (mǎgliv), замъглен (bg) (zamǎglen)
• Catalan: boirós, bromós, neulós
• Cornish: niwlek
• Dutch: mistig (nl)
• Esperanto: nebula (eo)
• Finnish: usvainen (fi), sumuinen (fi)
• French: brumeux (fr)
• Galician: con brétema
• Icelandic: mistraður, móðuhulinn
• Ingrian: tumakka
• Irish: ceoch
• Italian: con foschia, nebbioso (it)
• Japanese: 霞み (kasumi)
• Latin: nebulōsus
• Maori: ānehu, pūkohukohu, uwhango, kōehuehu
• Norman: embliâsé
• Occitan: neblós (oc), brumós (oc), tubós (oc)
• Polish: mglisty (pl)
• Portuguese: nublado (pt), enevoado (pt)
• Russian: мгли́стый (ru) (mglístyj), тума́нный (ru) (tumánnyj)
• Scots: immis
• Scottish Gaelic: ceòthach
• Spanish: con neblina, neblinoso, emboriado
• Ukrainian: імлистий (imlystyj)
• Welsh: niwlog (cy)

with tears in the eyes

• Bulgarian: насълзен (bg) (nasǎlzen)
• Dutch: waterig (nl)
• Esperanto: larmokula
• Icelandic: társtokkinn
• Italian: velato (it)
• Maori: toriwai, tōwahiwahi, tōwāwahi, matawai
• Portuguese: marejado (pt)
• Spanish: lloroso (es), sentimental (es)

Anagrams

• stimy

Middle English

Etymology 1

Adjective

misty

1. Alternative form of mysty (“misty”)

Etymology 2

Adjective

misty

1. Alternative form of mysty (“figurative”)