Moist
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /mɔɪst/
- Rhymes: -ɔɪst
Origin
From Middle English moiste ("moist, wet", also "fresh"), from Anglo-Norman moiste and Middle French moiste ("damp, mouldy, wet"), of obscure origin and formation. Perhaps from a late variant of Latin mūcidus ("slimy, musty") combined with a reflex of Latin mustum ("must").
Full definition of moist
Adjective
moist
- Slightly wet; characterised by the presence of moisture, not dry; damp. from 14th c.
- 1937, "Modernist Miracle", Time, 1 Nov 1937:Joseph Smith, a diffident, conscientious young man with moist hands and an awkward, absent-minded manner, was head gardener at Wotton Vanborough.
- 2011, Dominic Streatfeild, The Guardian, 7 Jan 2011:"The other car didn't explode," continues Shujaa. "The explosives were a bit moist. They had been stored in a place that was too humid."
- Of eyes: tearful, wet with tears. from 14th c.
- 1974, "Mitchell and Stans: Not Guilty", Time, 6 Dec 1974:Eyes moist, he hugged one of his attorneys and later said: "I feel like I've been reborn."
- Of weather, climate etc.: rainy, damp. from 14th c.
- 2008, Graham Harvey, The Guardian, 8 Sep 2008:With its mild, moist climate, Britain is uniquely placed to grow good grass.
- (science, now historical) Pertaining to one of the four essential qualities formerly believed to be present in all things, characterised by wetness. from 14th c.
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy:Pituita, or phlegm, is a cold and moist humour, begotten of the colder parts of the chylus ....
- (obsolete) Watery, liquid, fluid. 14th-17th c.
- 1658, Sir Thomas Browne, Hydriotaphia: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.
- (medicine) Characterised by the presence of pus, mucus etc. from 14th c.
- (colloquial) Sexually lubricated (of the vagina); sexually aroused, turned on (of a woman). from 20th c.
- 2008, Marcia King-Gamble, Meet Phoenix, p. 168:He slid a finger in me, checking to make sure I was moist and ready for him.