Waspish

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈwɒs.pɪʃ/

Definitions

1. Having a sharp, bitter, or bad-tempered quality; prone to stinging criticism or hostile remarks with venomous intensity
2. displaying a thin-waisted silhouette combined with a prone-to-anger disposition marked by caustic speech and hostile demeanor
3. Easily annoyed and expressing harsh or cutting remarks ; shaped with a noticeably narrow waist similar to a wasp

Etymology: Waspish is about as transparent as English compounds get: the insect "wasp" with the adjective-forming suffix "-ish" attached, so the word describes someone who behaves like a wasp, quick to sting with a sharp remark. The insect's name goes back through Old English "wæps" to a Proto-Germanic "wapsōn," itself traceable to a very old Indo-European root, "webʰ-," which is connected to the idea of weaving, a nice reminder that the wasp's name may have begun with its nest-building rather than its sting. The suffix has a similarly long pedigree. "-ish" descends from Old English "-isc," which carried the sense of "belonging to" or "having the nature of," and it is the same ending that gives us "boyish" and "childish." Attaching it to "wasp" produced an adjective meaning "like a wasp," and the figurative sense of irritable, stinging speech grew naturally from there.

Synonyms: irritable, testy, snappish, petulant

Antonyms: pleasant, agreeable, tolerant