/mɔɪst/
OriginThe adjective is derived from Middle English moist, moiste [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman moist, moiste, moste, Middle French moiste, and Old French moiste, muste (“damp, moist, wet”) (modern French moite); further etymology uncertain, perhaps a blend of a Late Latin variant of Latin mūcidus (“mouldy, musty”) + a Late Latin derivative of Latin mustum (“unfermented or partially fermented grape juice or wine, must”).
The noun is derived from the adjective.
- Characterized by the presence of moisture; not dry; slightly wet; damp.
“Will theſe moyſt Trees,
That haue out-liu'd the Eagle, page thy heeles
And skip when thou point'ſt out?”
“And [the Angel of the Lord] made the mids of the fornace, as it had bene a moiſt whiſtling wind, ſo that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them.”
“[Y]et the North-ſide [of the pyramids of Giza] moſt worne, by reaſon of the humiditie of the Northerne wind, which here is the moiſteſt.”
- Of eyes: wet with tears; tearful; also (obsolete), watery due to some illness or to old age.
“[H]aue you not a moiſt eie, a dry hand, a yelow cheeke, a white beard, a decreaſing leg, an increaſing belly? […] and will you yet call your ſelfe yong? fie, fie, fie, ſir Iohn.”
“Come, the other are conſiderations, when wee come to haue gray heads, and weake hammes, moiſt eyes, and ſhrunke members. Wee'll thinke on 'hem then; then wee'll pray, and faſt.”
“And on the banner which stood near
He glanced a look of holy pride,
And his moist eyes were glorified; […]”
- Of a climate, the weather, etc.: damp, humid, rainy.
“Ye Swains, invoke the Pow'rs who rule the Sky,
For a moiſt Summer, and a Winter dry:
For Winter drout rewards the Peaſant's Pain,
And broods indulgent on the bury'd Grain.”
“[I]n the year 1752, which we may reckon among ſome of our moiſteſt Summers throughout England, more Rain fell at London than at Plymouth, according to an eſtimate made at both places; […]”
“The time is early in the evening; the weather moist and raw.”
- informalOf the vagina: sexually lubricated due to sexual arousal; of a woman: sexually aroused, turned on.
“He slid a finger in me, checking to make sure I was moist and ready for him.”
- Characterized by the presence of some fluid such as mucus, pus, etc.
- Of sounds of internal organs (especially as heard through a stethoscope): characterized by the sound of air bubbling through a fluid.
- historicalPertaining to one of the four essential qualities formerly believed to be present in all things, characterized by wetness; also, having a significant amount of this quality.
“[T]he moiſt ſtarre,
Vpon whoſe influence Neptunes Empier ſtands,
Was ſicke almoſt to doomeſday with eclipſe, […]”
“[…] Ergo it behooveth then, that the firſt age, and the firſt ſeaſon of things ſhould beginne in the moiſteſt Signe, which is Aries, and in his head, as the principall of the Members, the Fortreſſe of”
“Pituita, or Fleagme, is a cold and moiſt humour, begotten of the colder part of the Chylus, (or white iuyce comming of the meat digeſted in the ſtomacke) in the Liuer, his office is to nouriſh, and mo”
- obsoleteFluid, liquid, watery.
“O pardon me, my liege, but for my teares,
The moiſt impediments vnto my ſpeech,
I had foreſtald this deere and deep rebuke, […]”
“For the chief, he in whom Pallas pour'd
Her store of counsels, Ithacus, aboard went last, and then
The moist ways of the sea they sail'd.”
“Some being of the opinion of Thales, that water was the originall of all things, thought it most equall to ſubmit unto the principle of putrefaction, and conclude in a moiſt relentment.”
- also, obsolete, poeticBringing moisture or rain.
“And the moiſt daughters of huge Atlas ſtroue
Into the Ocean deepe to driue their weary droue.”
“Ere twice in murke and occidentall dampe
Moiſt Heſperus hath quench'd her ſleepy Lampe: […]”
“Nor yet, when moiſt Arcturus clouds the sky,
The woods and fields their pleaſing toils deny.”
- regional, uncountableMoistness; also, moisture.
“[T]hey launch'd the ship, the mast it bore
Advanc'd, sails hoised, every seat his oar
Gave with a leather thong. The deep moist then
They further reach'd.”
“Th' Arch-Angel Uriel, one of the ſeav'n
[…]
That run through all the Heav'ns, or down to th' Earth
Bear his [God's] ſwift errands over moiſt and dry,
O're Sea and Land: […]”
- A follower of the religion of Moism.
- US, regional, transitiveTo make (something) moist or wet; to moisten.
“He calleth for a ſponge (ſaith Theodoritus) and therevvith moiſteth and vvaſsheth Simeones mouthe, and then geueth him the holy Sacrament.”
“They [the legendary Fortunate Isles] haue raine there very ſeldom, howbeit a gentle winde commonly that bloweth in a litle ſiluer dew, which moiſteth the earth ſo finely, that it maketh it fertile and”
“Now no more
The iuyce of Egypts Grape ſhall moyſt this lip.”
- figuratively, obsolete, transitiveTo inspire, to refresh (someone); also, to soften (one's heart).
- US, intransitiveTo rain lightly; to drizzle.
- intransitive, obsoleteTo have an effect of moistening or wetting.
“Auyſing the bright bemes of theſe fayer Iyes
where he is that myn oft moiſteth & waſſheth” — Avising the bright beams of these fair eyes,
Where he is that mine oft moisteth and washeth; […]
“Againe, nothyng moiſteth ſoner then water. Therefore, a wepyng eye cauſeth muche moiſture, and prouoketh teares.”
“There is other ſome yͭ [that] heateth temperately. And another yͭ cooleth temperatly, and if moiſtneſſe be ioyned therewith, it moiſteth, and with a drie thinge, it drieth.” — Governance of Hygiene of Salerno
Formsmoister(comparative) · more moist(comparative) · moistest(superlative) · most moist(superlative) · moists(present, singular, third-person) · moisting(participle, present) · moisted(participle, past) · moisted(past) · Moists(plural)