English word origin

Etymology of wasty

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

adj

Resembling a waste or wasteland; desert; (by extension) deserted, desolate.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English wasti, westy, westi, westiȝ (“desolate, deserted; destitute”), from Old English wēstiġ (“wasty, desert, desolate”), from Proto-West Germanic *wōstīg (“waste-like, deserted”), equivalent to waste + -y. Cognate with Scots wasty, waisty (“desolate, deserted; unoccupied”), Dutch woestig (“inhospitable, rugged, wild”), German Low German wööstig (“desolate”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionwastienm
Inherited-form mentionwēstiġang · wasty, desert, desolate
Inherited-form mention*wōstīggmw-pro · waste-like, deserted
Cognate mentionwastysco
Cognate mentionwoestignl · inhospitable, rugged, wild

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "wasti"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wasti"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "wēstiġ",
        "t": "wasty, desert, desolate"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wēstiġ (“wasty, desert, desolate”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
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        "2": "gmw-pro",
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      },
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    },
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        "2": "waste",
        "3": "-y",
        "id2": "adjectival"
      },
      "expansion": "waste + -y"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "wasty"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots wasty"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "woestig",
        "t": "inhospitable, rugged, wild"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch woestig (“inhospitable, rugged, wild”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "wööstig",
        "t": "desolate"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German wööstig (“desolate”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "wasti",
      "wasti#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "westy",
      "westy#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "westi",
      "westi#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "westiȝ",
      "westiȝ#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "wēstiġ",
      "westig#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*wōstīg",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wōstīg"
    ],
    [
      "waste",
      "waste#English"
    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English:_adjectival"
    ],
    [
      "wasty",
      "wasty#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "waisty",
      "waisty#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "woestig",
      "woestig#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "wööstig",
      "wööstig#Low_German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

adj

Containing or yielding much waste. · Deteriorating, wasting away. · Obese; excessively fat. · Resembling cotton-waste (the leftover cotton fibers from manufacturing and post-consumer sources that can be recycled into new products).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English wasty (“extravagantly or wastefully expensive”), equivalent to waste + -y.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionwastyenm · extravagantly or wastefully expensive

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "3": "wasty",
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      },
      "expansion": "Middle English wasty (“extravagantly or wastefully expensive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "suf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "waste",
        "3": "-y",
        "id2": "adjectival"
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        "Obese; excessively fat.",
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      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for wasty →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-d2FzdHk