Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fist” come from?

Fist comes from Middle English fisten, from Old English fistan, from Proto-Germanic fistaz, from Proto-Germanic fīsaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)peys-, from Proto-Indo-European pnksti-, from Proto-Indo-European pénkʷe.

fist (English): A hand with the fingers clenched or curled...

Definitions

  1. A hand with the fingers clenched or curled...

Ancestry of “fist”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfist—
2Old Englishfȳstfist
3Proto-West Germanicfūstifist
4Proto-Germanicfunstizfist
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpnsti-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpnksti-—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpénkʷefive

Words derived from “fist”

  • fistful
  • fistfight
  • fisting
  • fistic
  • tightfisted
  • fisticuff
  • fisty
  • backfist
  • fister
  • fistiana
  • fistlike
  • fistee
  • fistball
  • pinchfist
  • fistical
  • fistfighter
  • fisticuffer
  • fistmele
  • brofist
  • terrorist fist jab
  • fistbump
  • unfist
  • clubfist
  • tight-fisted
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pénkʷe →