testa-, test-
(Latin: testu, testum; earthen container, earthen pot; shell, skull)
testy (adjective), more testy, most testy
1. Easily irritated or annoyed; impatient, or exasperated; peevish: Maxine has had many experiences with testy people; for example: a testy cab driver, a testy refusal by a clerk to help her, and a neighbor who was upset when he accused her of playing opera music too loudly.
2. Etymology: from Late Latin testa, "skull"; in Latin, "pot, shell".
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2. Etymology: from Late Latin testa, "skull"; in Latin, "pot, shell".
To see the "head" in testy, it is necessary to look back at the Old French word testu, which is the source of testy. Testu (literally "heady") is derived from the Old French word teste, "head" (Modern French tête).
In English testy developed another sense, "aggressive, contentious"; which passed into the meaning now used as, "irritable".
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