Hmm... good point. My first reaction was, that's how Lois is usually described on the boards. The second was, R2-D2 is supposedly male and called feisty.
But on second, or third, glance, spunky and feisty do seem to apply to the physically a bit more diminutive characters.
It's also interesting that the example in Merriam Webster uses female pronouns for feisty.
Either way, from the translations and word-use, I'd say spunky isn't condescending while feistiness seems to be unsuited for entertaining polite company. Also, they certainly describe the Lois we know on the boards
Michael, who has no idea wither this helped or confused matters even more