Moist Meaning
/mɔɪst/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjCharacterized by the presence of moisture; not dry; slightly wet; damp.
adjOf eyes: wet with tears; tearful; also (obsolete), watery due to some illness or to old age.
Sentence Examples
The air is soft, the soil moist.
Winds from the sea are moist.
This earth is moist owing to the recent rain.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The gardener found the soil still ____ after the heavy rain, so he did not water again.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The chocolate cake was perfectly ____ and rich, making it a huge hit at the family's weekend birthday party.
Word Origin & History
The adjective is derived from Middle English moist, moiste [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman moist, moiste, moste, Middle French moiste, and Old French moiste, muste (“damp, moist, wet”) (modern French moite); further etymology uncertain, perhaps a blend of a Late Latin variant of Latin mūcidus (“mouldy, musty”) + a Late Latin derivative of Latin mustum (“unfermented or partially fermented grape juice or wine, must”). The noun is derived from the adjective.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Will theſe moyſt Trees, / That haue out-liu'd the Eagle, page thy heeles / And skip when thou point'ſt out?"
— c. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 92, column 2:
"And [the Angel of the Lord] made the mids of the fornace, as it had bene a moiſt whiſtling wind, ſo that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Prayer of Azariah, verse 26, column 1:
"[Y]et the North-ſide [of the pyramids of Giza] moſt worne, by reaſon of the humiditie of the Northerne wind, which here is the moiſteſt."
— 1625, [Samuel] Purchas, “Relations of Africa, Taken Out of Master George Sandys His Larger Discourse Obserued in His Iourney, Begun Ann. 1610. Lib. 2.”, in Purchas His Pilgrimes. […], 2nd part, London: […] William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, […], →OCLC, 6th book, § III (The Pyramides Viewed, Sphynx and Other Antiquities. Iourney from Cairo to Gaza.), page 908:
"[W]e ſee Swines and Pigs Fleſh is the Moiſteſt of Fleſhes."
— 1631, Francis [Bacon], “V. Century. [Experiments in Consort, Touching the Melioration of Fruits, Trees, and Plants.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC, paragraph 465, page 117:
"Whilſt thee the ſhores, and ſounding Seas / Waſh far away, where ere thy bones are hurld, / Whether beyond the ſtormy Hebrides, / Where thou perhaps under the whelming tide / Viſit'ſt the bottom of the monſtrous world; / Or whether thou to our moiſt vows deny'd, / Sleep'ſt by the fable of Bellerus old, […]"
— 1637 (date written; published 1638), John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 63:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The gardener found the soil still ____ after the heavy rain, so he did not water again.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The chocolate cake was perfectly ____ and rich, making it a huge hit at the family's weekend birthday party.