lusty, a.
(ˈlʌstɪ)
Also 3–5 lusti, 6 losty, 6–7 lustie.
[f. lust n. + -y. Cf. MHG. lustic (mod.G. lustig), ON. lostig-r.]
† 1. Of persons and their attributes: Joyful, merry, jocund; cheerful, lively. Obs.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1693 Alle pleiende somet, alle lahinde somet, eauer iliche lusti. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 655 And from his courser, with a lusty herte, In to a groue ful hastily he sterte. 14.. Epiphany in Tundale's Vis. (1843) 109 With lusty hart and glad chere and myld of face. 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Rom. Prol., The lawe requireth a fre, a willinge, a lusty and a louynge hearte. 1552 R. Ascham Germany 16 The one so lusty with good luck that he had no lust to leave, and the other so chafed with losing that he still would venture. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 41 The gentlemen..keepe sumptuous houses, lusty ports, and great hospitalitie. 1621 Fletcher Isl. Princess ii. vii, My most noble Princes, no discontents, but all be lustie, He that frownes this day is an open enemie. |
b. Of singing, music, festivities: Merry, cheerful. Now
arch. and
dial.| 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas Prol. (1554) 35 Their..lustie freshe singing. c 1440 ― Nightingale Poems 3/37 Sche,..all the someres nyght Ne seseth not with mony a lusty note. 1519 Interl. Four Elem. (Percy Soc.) 50 Let us some lusty balet syng. 1535 Coverdale Amos vi. 7 The lusty chere [1611 banquet] of the wylfull shall come to an ende. 1596 Sir J. Davies Orchestra lxviii, With loftie turnes and capriols in the ayre, Which with the lustie tunes accordeth fayre. 1622 Fletcher Beggars Bush iv. v, Well met sir, you are for this lusty wedding? 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. iv, The lusty banqueting with sweetmeats and comfits. 1864 Skeat tr. Uhland's Poems 262 Hark! a lusty horn is sounded. 1896 Crockett Grey Man xxvii. 183 Never once did we speak of wars and stratagems..but all of friendship, of lusty daffing, and of leasome love. |
† 2. Pleasing, pleasant.
Obs. † a. Pleasing in appearance; beautiful.
Obs.| a 1240 Wohunge in Cott. Hom. 269 Þi leor is swa unimete lufsum and lusti on to loken. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 35 Now be the lusti somer floures, Now be the stormy wynter shoures. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. vi, The medowes..Tapited bene with diuers floures newe, Of sundry motlees lusty for to sene. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. ix. 86 Lavynia..That doun for schame did cast hyr lusty eyn [L. decoros]. 1530 Tindale Gen. iii. 6 The woman sawe that it was a good tree to eate of and lustie unto the eyes. 1562 Turner Baths 9 a, Hillockes whych are pleasant and lusty to loke unto. a 1600 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xvii. 63 Quhen throu hir garments, heir and thair, Appeirit hir lustie limis square. |
† b. Of dress: Handsome, gay. Of persons: Gaily dressed.
Obs.| c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 486 Who now moost may bere on his bak at ones Of cloth and furrour, hath a fressch renoun; He is ‘a lusty man’ clept for þe nones. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 58 Ane hundreth ladyes, lustie in to wedis, Als fresch as flouris that in May vp spredis. 1530 Palsgr. 318/1 Lusty or fresshe in apparayle, frisque. 1555 Bradford in Strype Eccl. Mem. III. App. xlv. 134 Ye shall prove their lustie lyveryes to be bought with exceeding great excesse. 1584 Peele Arraignm. Paris i. i, Her lustie mantle wauing in the winde. 1603 Drayton Odes x. 7 Long since the Summer layd Her lustie Brav'rie downe. 1610 Fletcher Faithf. Shepherdess i. i, Euery shepheards boy Puts on his lusty greene. |
† c. Of seasons, places, etc.: Pleasant, delightful.
Obs.| ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 736 And with him, in that lusty place, So fair folk and so fresh hadde he. c 1386 ― Sqr.'s T. 44 Ful lusty was the weder and benigne. c 1430 Lydg. Reas. & Sens. (E.E.T.S.) 4807 In that fressh[e] lusty place Hem to disporte and solace. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. lxxix. [lxxv.] 236 It was in the ioly lusty moneth of Aprell. c 1590 Marlowe Faust. i. 149 That I may coniure in some lustie groue. 1610 Fletcher Faithf. Shepherdess i. i, Since the lusty spring began. |
† d. Pleasant to the taste.
Obs.| c 1430 Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. 29 Till firy Tytan..Had dried up the lusty lycour nywe, Upon the herbes in the grene mede. a 1450 Myrc 1436 Also ȝef þou synned hast In mete or drynke by lusty tast. |
† e. Of language, eloquence, etc.: Pleasing, agreeable.
Obs.| 1399 Pol. Poems (Rolls) I. 372 That it be lore lawefulle, and lusty to here. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xviii. 255 Into this eende..thei vsiden certein colouris of rethorik, that with hem her spechis schulde be the more lusti. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 980 All the audyence Reioysed to here her lusty eloquence. a 1529 Skelton Replyc. etc. Wks. 1843 I. 207 Yong scolers..when they haue delectably lycked a lytell of the lycorous electuary of lusty lerning. |
† 3. Full of desire, desirous. Const.
to,
for.
Obs.| c 1400 Destr. Troy 10598 Sum lordes to lenge lusty þai were. 1493 Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 96 Than George bad y⊇ kynge..be lusty to goddes servyce. 1552 Latimer Serm. Lincoln. vii. (1562) 124 b, These thynges are written for our sake, to make vs lustie to folowe oure vocation. 1657 S. Purchas Pol. Flying-Ins. 97 Lusty for labour. |
† 4. Full of lust or sexual desire; lustful.
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Manciple's Prol. 41 Fy stynkyng swyn fy, foule moot thee falle,..A taketh heede sires, of this lusty man. 1483 Cath. Angl. 224/2 Lusty,..libidinosus. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §68 It is better to kepe the horse frome the mares,..for..he shall be more lusty, and the moo horse coltes shall he gete. 1562 Child Marriages etc. 75 He went..when he was lustie, to his wief, and vsid her companye in bed. 1610 Fletcher Faithf. Shepherdess iv. ii, Prouoking thoughts that stirr vpp lusty fiers. 1611 Cotgr., Rechauffer vn chien, to make him lustie, or desirous of the bitch. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 104 While their Youth is fill'd with kindly Fire, Submit thy Females to the lusty Sire. |
5. Full of healthy vigour.
a. Of persons and animals: Healthy, strong, vigorous. Also of a period of life: Characterized by vigour. Now somewhat
arch. in literary use; common in dialects.
† In early use often: Valiant, courageous, active (
obs.).
| c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 85 This..knyght..Was yong and there with all a lusty knyght. c 1386 ― Prol. 80 With hym ther was his sone a yong Squier A louyere, and a lusty Bacheler. 1486 Bk. St. Albans b vj b, That hawke was neuer so lusty nor so Joly before. 1521 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 281, I mett his Holynes, and my thought I never sawe hym mor losty. 1535 Coverdale Prov. xvii. 22 A mery herte maketh a lusty age, but a sorowfull minde dryeth vp y⊇ bones. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. (1586) 128 For milcking, or for feeding, it is best alwaies to choose such as are young, of lusty age. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. iii. 66. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus i. 15 All idle, lustie, and wandring beggars, who ought not to eate. a 1648 Digby Closet Open. (1669) 27 Cause a lusty Servant (his Arms well washed) to mix the honey and water together. 1702 Pope Jan. & May 135 Old as I am, my lusty limbs appear Like winter greens, that flourish all the year. 1791 Cowper Iliad i. 175 A bark with lusty rowers well supplied. 1824 Byron Def. Transf. i. i, Though my brothers are So beautiful and lusty. 1876 Black Madcap V. vii. 65 But what pathos was there possible to those stalwart young fellows with their lusty throats, their tobacco, and beer and wine? 1884 West Sussex Gaz. 25 Sept., [To be sold] 10 prime lusty heifers. |
| transf. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. iv. 31 Make lusty the mynde of a Christian souldier. a 1677 Barrow Serm. Wks. 1716 II. 14 Truth is the natural food of our soul..doth render it lusty, plump and active. 1871 Blackie Four Phases i. 33 note, They were..the natural guides of the lusty young democracy. 1880 Newman Smyth Old Faiths in New Lt. i. (1882) 19 Much even of our most positive and lusty science is still only in its infancy. |
† b. Phrases.
Lusty Laurence (
cf. laurence): ‘a good wencher’ (Nares).
Lusty Juventus: the title of a morality play produced
c 1550; often used allusively in 16th c.
Obs.| 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 64 You lustye iuuentus In yeers and carcasse prime. 1594 in Arber Stationers' Reg. (1875) II. 309 A ballad intituled Lustye Lawrence. 1594 Barnfield Helens Rape Poems (Arb.) 40 Old lad, and bold lad, such a Boy, such a lustie Iuuentus. 1598 Marston Metam. Pigmal. etc. Sat. iv. F 1 b, When strong backt Hercules..Rob'd fifty wenches of virginity. Farre more then lusty Laurence. 1613 Beaum. & Fl. Captain iv. iii, Lusty Laurence, See what a Gentlewoman you have saluted. a 1625 Fletcher Woman's Prize i. iii, Well, lusty Laurence, were but my night now, Old as I am, I would make you clap on Spurs, But I would reach you. 1636 Dekker Wonder of Kingd. v. i. Wks. 1873 IV. 279 Hee'll proue a lustie Larrence. |
c. With reference to vegetable growth.
arch.| 1600 Surflet Country Farm iii. viii. 434 In the spring and March when the trees are in flowers, and beginne to grow lustie. 1660 Sharrock Vegetables 128 Thus you will have lusty slips. 1671 Grew Anat. Plants i. (1682) 8 The Plume,..growing so lusty, as to mount up without them [the lobes]. 1820 Keats Isabella ix, Great happiness Grew, like a lusty flower in June's caress. |
† d. Of soil: Fertile, prolific.
Obs.| 1601 Bp. W. Barlow Defence 6 Pregnant natures, are like lustie groundes, these manured by industry, prooue soundly fertile. |
† 6. Insolent, arrogant, self-confident.
Obs.| a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. i. (Arb.) 54 To thinke well of him selfe, to be lustie in contemning of others. 1573 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 5 Purposing..to show a lusti contempt of so silli a frend. 1588 J. Harvey Disc. Probl. 46 The great emperor of Turkes..is lately become,..somewhat cranker and lustier, than his accustomed maner was. 1600 Holland Livy vi. xxxvi. 242 The Coloners onely of Velitre, upon so long rest and quietnesse began to be lustie and wax wanton [L. gestientes otio]. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. x. §102 When they found it fit to make any lusty Declaration against the Parliament,..they allways inserted somewhat that might look like candour and tenderness towards the King's Party. |
† 7. Of inanimate agencies (
e.g. a fire, wine, poison, a disease): Strong, powerful.
Obs.| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 228 The husbandmen sat warming their shanckes by a lustie fire that filled the chimney. 1596 Drayton Leg. iii. 21 Many a low Ebbe, many a lustie Tide. 1622 Fletcher Beggars Bush iv. iv. Strong lusty London beer. a 1647 Prol. to Beaum. & Fl.'s Custom Country, They..dranke lusty wine, The nectar of the Muses. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Conv. betw. B.J. & W.D. Wks. (1711) 224 It was strong and lusty poison. 1683 Tryon Way to Health xvi. (1697) 380 The close Rooms, lusty Fires, drawn Curtains, and other torturing Circumstances. 1692 Locke Educ. §29 Distempers..which, by too forward applications, might have been made lusty diseases. |
† b. Of a ship: Sailing well.
Obs.| 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 335 In an houre we cast more over-board then was laded in a day; and..immediately we perceiv'd the Vessell to be more lusty. 1667 Lond. Gaz. No. 155/4 The Paradox..had a sharp dispute with a lusty privateer, who got from him. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. 19 The Chase is a lusty brave Ship. |
8. Of actions (
esp. those involving physical effort, as a blow, a shout): Vigorous. Of a meal, etc.: ‘Hearty’, abundant.
| 1672 Chaucer's Ghoast 14 He..beheld the lusty Love which each of them to other made. a 1682 Sir T. Browne Tracts 122 A word drawn from the lusty shout of souldiers. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 266 ¶2 He drunk a lusty Draught. 1779 Johnson Let. to Mrs. Thrale 25 Oct., I hope Mr. Thrale once a day makes a lusty dinner. 1797 Burke Regic. Peace iii. Wks. VIII. 271 The Turk..gave him two or three lusty kicks on the seat of honour. 1840 Thackeray King of Yvetot, And every day it came to pass That four lusty meals made he. 1872 Baker Nile Tribut. xi. 177 She gave her a maternal welcome..bestowing lusty blows on her back. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman iii. xiv. 175 There was some lusty disputation. |
† 9. Massive, substantial, large.
Obs.| 1640 Lanc. Lovers in Brand Pop. Antiq. (1849) II. 37 We will haue a lustie Cheese-cake at our sheepe-wash. 1645 Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 196 The Arsenal has sufficient to arm 70,000 men,..with divers lusty pieces of ordnance. 1647 Lilly Chr. Astrol. lxxvi. 432 Provided alwayes, it be not to hinder themselves from enjoying a lusty Benefice. 1670 Eachard Cont. Clergy 127 If ten or twenty of the lustiest noble-mens estates of England were cleaverly sliced among the indigent. 1691 Shadwell Scourers i. i, A bottle of Spirit of Canary and a lusty glass. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xv. 133 Four boys and a little girl sat at a side table where..a lusty loaf was laid under contribution. |
¶ b. ? Important, striking. ?
nonce-use.
| 1788 H. Walpole Let. Earl Strafford 17 June (1846) VI. 292 To have Constantinople taken, merely as a lusty event. |
10. Of persons: Massively built. Hence, corpulent, stout, fat.
| 1772–84 Cook Voy. (1790) IV. 1341 He was lusty and well made, though not tall. 1785 G. A. Bellamy Apology IV. 5 That lady, playing the character of Arpasia..being very lusty, the scene men found great difficulty to lift the chair into which she had thrown herself. 1792 C. Smith Desmond II. 209 Quite a grand looking man, though not lusty, but rather thinnish. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. ii, Being a robust and lusty man, he..found it impossible to get through between the bars. 1839 F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia (1863) 180, I came upon a gang of lusty women, as the phrase is here for women in the family-way. 1886 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., Lusty..2. Obese; fat. |
11. Comb. (parasynthetic), as
lusty-handed,
† lusty-hued,
lusty-limbed,
lusty-lunged adjs.| 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 639 The..heaps Of apples, which the *lusty-handed year,..o'er the blushing orchard shakes. |
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 3014 So *lusty hewed of colour. |
| 1897 Pullen-Burry Blotted Out 17 Red-nosed *lusty-limbed swains. |
| 1895 C. Holland Jap. Wife (ed. 11) 87 Instruments..blown by other equally *lusty-lunged boys. |
Hence
† ˈlusty n. (
Naut.)
= hearty n.2| 1805 Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1806) IX. 375 Now then, my lusties, for a lug at the bowlines. |