Thirsty Word

June 10, 2007 12:00 PM

Is there an English word that describes things that make you thirsty?
posted by friedrice to Writing & Language (22 answers total)

Best answer: Dipsetic has this exact meaning, although I am not sure that it's commonly used today.
posted by Siobhan at 12:08 PM on June 10, 2007

Enthirst(-ening) is obscure. Thirst-inducing, thirst-creating or thirst-making seem like better alternatives.

I searched the OED for all nouns whose definition contains 'thirst', and judging from a skim-reading of the 257 results, dipsetic sounds like the best option.
posted by Aloysius Bear at 12:20 PM on June 10, 2007

Not as precise as dipsetic, but I think "dessicating" (dessicants, I guess, to refer to foods) might fit the bill. The word itself makes me thirsty.
posted by bluenausea at 12:24 PM on June 10, 2007

desiccating, desiccants.
posted by zadcat at 12:25 PM on June 10, 2007

what about dehydrating?
posted by trashcan at 12:30 PM on June 10, 2007

dipsogenic, but it tends towards medical. But it's in use.
posted by peacay at 12:35 PM on June 10, 2007

diuretic?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:44 PM on June 10, 2007

Astringents make your mouth feel dry.
posted by kiltedtaco at 12:56 PM on June 10, 2007

Tantalizing? Originally, from Tantalus?
posted by walla at 1:08 PM on June 10, 2007

It's definitely not diuretic. That be something that makes you go peepee.
posted by peacay at 1:15 PM on June 10, 2007

parchable, though the term's falling by the wayside.
posted by Smart Dalek at 1:26 PM on June 10, 2007

I've heard dehydrating used to describe soda (it makes you thirsty).
posted by amethysts at 1:43 PM on June 10, 2007

Just remembered: arid/aradity.
posted by Smart Dalek at 1:57 PM on June 10, 2007

Mouth-watering.
posted by genghis at 2:00 PM on June 10, 2007

There's a difference between being dehydrated and being thirsty - dehydrated means low levels of fluid in your body, thirsty means you want to drink some fluid. Usually they go together but they can be separate...
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 2:07 PM on June 10, 2007

Y'all are making this too complicated. You can just use thirsty to mean something that makes you thirsty.

Specifically I am thinking of a quote from Bram Stoker's Dracula:
We left in pretty good time, and came after nightfall to Klausenburgh. Here I stopped for the night at the Hotel Royale. I had for dinner, or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty. (Mem., get recipe for Mina.) I asked the waiter, and he said it was called "paprika hendl," and that, as it was a national dish, I should be able to get it anywhere along the Carpathians. I found my smattering of German very useful here; indeed, I don't know how I should be able to get on without it.
posted by charlesv at 2:31 PM on June 10, 2007

"Parchable" sounds like it should refer to things that can get dry, not things that make you dry. I'd use "parching" instead.
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:06 PM on June 10, 2007

hydrotropic (lit: drawn toward water)?
barsnacky?
pretzelesque?
Redenmacher?
posted by rob511 at 5:17 PM on June 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

Best answer: How about "parching?" Might be the best of a bad bunch:

I found the walk parching.

I think has to be preferred to:

I found the walk thirst inducing.
posted by shothotbot at 6:07 PM on June 10, 2007

Nthing "parching."

I'm pretty sure I've heard "parching sun" or "parching heat" more than a few times.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 11:20 PM on June 10, 2007

Salty
posted by pithy comment at 6:43 AM on June 11, 2007

Yeah, Parching. That's it.
posted by SlyBevel at 12:44 PM on June 11, 2007