Easily annoyed or made angry; irritable and impatient. Showing signs of being in a bad mood or quick to take offense.
From Old French 'testif' meaning 'headstrong', derived from 'teste' (head). Originally described someone who was 'heady' or impetuous, gradually shifting to mean irritable by the 16th century.
Originally meaning 'headstrong' (literally 'having a strong head'), the word evolved to describe someone whose head gets hot with anger too easily. It's related to 'testify' and 'attest' - all from the Latin root meaning 'witness' or 'head'.
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