moist
Part of speech: adj
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: medicine
sciences
Etymology: The 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.
Inflected forms:
form: moister
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: more moist
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: moistest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: most moist
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: moists
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: moisting
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: moisted
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: moisted
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: Characterized by the presence of moisture; not dry; slightly wet; damp.
pos: adj
examples: 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.
[W]e ſee Swines and Pigs Fleſh is the Moiſteſt of Fleſhes.
Whilſt thee the ſhores, and ſounding Seas / Waſh far away, where ere thy bones are hurld, / Whether beyond the ſtormy Hebrides, / Where thou perhaps under the whelming tide / Viſit'ſt the bottom of the monſtrous world; / Or whether thou to our moiſt vows deny'd, / Sleep'ſt by the fable of Bellerus old, […]
[T]he Winds / Blow moiſt and keen, ſhattering the graceful locks / Of theſe fair ſpreading Trees; […]
After every watering, which need not be above twice or thrice in every Summer, ſo they may be thoroughly wet, be ſure to make up the Hills, wherein holes for the water had been made, with ſome parings, and with the weeds, and cooleſt and moiſteſt Materials that can be got.
Nor was it that the figs were moist and pulpy, or that the French plums blushed in modest tartness from their highly-decorated boxes,[…]: but the customers were all so hurried and so eager in the hopeful promise of the day, that they tumbled up against each other at the door, […]
Joseph Smith, a diffident, conscientious young man with moist hands and an awkward, absent-minded manner, was head gardener at Wotton Vanborough.
'The other car didn't explode,' continues Abu Shujaa. 'The explosives were a bit moist. They had been stored in a place that was too humid.[…]'
gloss: Of eyes: wet with tears; tearful; also (obsolete), watery due to some illness or to old age.
pos: adj
examples: [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; […]
At this the tender sound of his own voice / And sweet self-pity, or the fancy of it, / Made his eye moist; but Enid fear'd his eyes, / Moist as they were, wine-heated from the feast; […]
Eyes moist, he [Maurice Stans] hugged one of his attorneys and later said: "I feel like I've been reborn."
gloss: Of a climate, the weather, etc.: damp, humid, rainy.
pos: adj
examples: 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.
With its mild, moist climate, Britain is uniquely placed to grow good grass. Through the centuries pastures have produced many of our basic foods including our beef and lamb; our poultry and eggs; our milk[,] butter and cheese.
gloss: Of the vagina: sexually lubricated due to sexual arousal; of a woman: sexually aroused, turned on.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: He slid a finger in me, checking to make sure I was moist and ready for him.
gloss: Characterized by the presence of some fluid such as mucus, pus, etc.
pos: adj
gloss: Of sounds of internal organs (especially as heard through a stethoscope): characterized by the sound of air bubbling through a fluid.
pos: adj
gloss: Pertaining 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.
pos: adj
tags: historical
examples: [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 the Soule, and the Signe of Life.
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 moiſten the members of the body, which as the tongue, are moued, that they be no ouer-drye.
He [Aristotle] made four Elements; the firſt, cold and dry; the ſecond, cold and moiſt; the third, hot and moiſt; and the fourth, hot and dry. […] And Water, being the coldeſt and moiſteſt of all Things, he call'd his ſecond Element, Water.
They [fish] are cold and moiſt, and muſt needs, ſay they, produce juices of the ſame kind, and conſequently are improper to ſtrengthen the body. In this diverſity of opinion, it is the wiſest way to eat our fiſh in the ordinary manner, and pay no great attention to cooks or doctors.
Neither did the live coals, which were lying about in plenty, burn him; for, being a water-baby, his radical humours were of a moist and cold nature, […]
gloss: Fluid, liquid, watery.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: 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.
gloss: Bringing moisture or rain.
pos: adj
tags: also
obsolete
poetic
examples: 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.
gloss: To make (something) moist or wet; to moisten.
pos: verb
tags: US
regional
transitive
examples: 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 luſtie, not onely to bring forth all that is ſet or ſowen apon it but of it ſelfe without mans hand it beareth ſo good frute, as ſufficiently maintaineth the inhabitants dwelling apon it, liuing idlely, and taking no paines.
Now no more / The iuyce of Egypts Grape ſhall moyſt this lip.
gloss: To inspire, to refresh (someone); also, to soften (one's heart).
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
obsolete
transitive
gloss: To rain lightly; to drizzle.
pos: verb
tags: US
intransitive
gloss: To have an effect of moistening or wetting.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
obsolete
examples: Auyſing the bright bemes of theſe fayer Iyes / where he is that myn oft moiſteth & waſſheth
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.
[S]prinkle a vessel of water, and it moisteth not, but cast it out wholly together, and it both washeth and nourisheth. This notable saying, before this time hath encourage Emperors, animated Kings, and allured Princes, to conquer realmes to them adjoining, to vanquish nations to their dominions adjacent, and to subdue people either necessary for their purpose, or being to them daily enemies and continual adversaries.
Related words: moisture
moistured
moistureless
moistureproof
moistureproofing
moisturised
moisturized
moisturise
moisturize
moisturiser
moisturizer
moisturising
moisturizing
nonmoisturizing
unmoisturized
Derived words: moist-adiabatic
moisten
moistened
moistener
moistening
moistful
moistify
moistish
moistly
moist media
moist moment
moistness
moist-proof
moistproof
moist tetter
moist towelette
moisty
overmoist
overmoisten
semimoist
supermoist
ultramoist
unmoist
unmoistenable
unmoistened
moisted
moisting
Translations: