Besty

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An informal, affectionate way to refer to one's closest friend, especially among young people
2. A casual nickname for a best friend, often used in speech or on social media to show close bonds
3. Slang for someone's very closest companion, usually a friend one trusts and spends most time with

Etymology: "Besty" is a respelling of "bestie," which is itself a shortened form of "best friend" with the diminutive ending "-ie" tacked on. The ending "-y" or "-ie" is a common English device for making informal, affectionate nicknames, so "bestie" works much like "hanky" or "Tommy" in that it takes a familiar phrase and clips it into something cosier. The phrase underneath it is ancient in its pieces. "Best" descends from Old English "betst," the superlative of "good," and "friend" comes from Old English "frēond," which goes back to a Germanic root that also gave us "free" in the sense of being among one's own kin. Within English the two words were already joined as "best friend" by the Middle English period, and the phrase was reshaped into the clipped nickname only in modern informal speech. Because the ending is an informal add-on rather than a Latin or French borrowing, the word stays firmly in everyday, often playful, usage. "Besty" then takes the same route one step further, swapping the "-ie" for a plainer "-y" spelling.

Synonyms: bestie, best friend

Antonyms: enemy