# use of suffix -ish



## Augusto-Cesar

I'm curious about the use of the suffix -ish when used with nouns and adjectives.

The other day I was speaking to a friend of mine and he said that a movie he saw was "creepish"... and then, one of these days, I overheard a conversation of two coworkers speaking about something that "looked Europeanish"... instead of _European _or _creepy_.

Does anyone have any insights into this phenomenom as I do not remember this while growing up, is it perhaps a contemporary usage of this suffix.


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## Aupick

The suffix *-ish* usually indicates approximation:

'The burglar's coat was greenish. No yellowish. No greenish yellow. Oh I don't know, it was dark!'

'I might be running late this evening, but I'll see you around six-ish.'

'- She's already got a degree in engineering. How young did you say she was?
- Ish.'

So I guess _creepish_ would mean 'kind of creepy' and _Europeanish_ would stress having a European appearance rather than being European. There's perhaps the following subtle distinction in your second example:
He looks European = I think (based on his appearance) that he's European.
He looks Europeanish = He wears European clothes, walks like a European, etc. (but I don't necessarily think he is European).


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## panjandrum

I would be a bit less confident than Aupick - I'd like to take the degree of certainty down a bit in each of the "looks European" examples. So:

He looks European = I may or may not know anything about him, but the way he looks is consistent with his being European.

He looks Europeanish = Although there are aspects of his appearance that would suggest that he is European, this is very far from convincing me that he is European - and in fact I am still very sceptical.

If it is a recent phenomenon (recent undefined) then it is recent only in relation to some adjectives - such as European  - that would not previously have seemed to accept the -ish suffix.  Greenish, as a random example, has been around for a long time.

An interesting side note is that the more I emphasise looks, the less convinced I am.

He _LOOKS_ European = although everything about him has the appearance of a European, he isn't.


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## panjandrum

~~Chuckle~~
You'll love this.
I wandered off to check if the OED had anything to say about whether or not the extension of -ish suffices to some class of adjectives is a recent phenomenon.

It says:


> In recent colloquial and journalistic use, _-ish_ has become the favourite ending for forming adjs. for the nonce (esp. of a slighting or depreciatory nature) on proper names of persons, places, or things


It then gives some examples, the most recent of which is:


> 1894 _Daily News_ 4 Jan. 4/7 Some huge pile of building, generally much more Queen Anne-ish than the houses of Queen Anne's own time.


Oh divine OED, I love you, I love you:
... for casually tossing "for the nonce" into the definition as if we use it every day;
... for referring to something as "recent" then giving examples the most recent of which is dated 1894.
Sigh............


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## Isotta

What about "-esque" then?

Z.


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## elroy

Both "-ish" and "-esque" are increasingly popular suffixes in the speech of today's youth.  They can pretty much be tacked on at the end of any word.

In fact, the former may be used independently, to modify or qualify a previous estimate.

-What time will you come by?
-5:00.
-5:00?
-Ish.
-Ok, great.  I'll be waiting for you at 4:50ish.


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## JLanguage

elroy said:
			
		

> Both "-ish" and "-esque" are increasingly popular suffixes in the speech of today's youth. They can pretty much be tacked on at the end of any word.
> 
> In fact, the former may be used independently, to modify or qualify a previous estimate.
> 
> -What time will you come by?
> -5:00.
> -5:00?
> -Ish.
> -Ok, great. I'll be waiting for you at 4:50ish.


 
No one that I know uses "-esque", but "-ish" is common.


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## elroy

JLanguage said:
			
		

> No one that I know uses "-esque", but "-ish" is common.


 
"Oh, that is so tabloid-esque."

One of numerous examples...


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## JLanguage

elroy said:
			
		

> "Oh, that is so tabloid-esque."
> 
> One of numerous examples...


 
I have seen it before it literature and understand its use; I was merely pointing out that in my experience I have not found "-esque" common.


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## elroy

JLanguage said:
			
		

> I have seen it before it literature and understand its use; I was merely pointing out that in my experience I have not found "-esque" common.


 
I, in turn, was trying to show that I found it common - in my experience. 

I did not imply that you were not aware of the meaning - just that we have obviously had varying degress of exposure to the suffix.


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## suzzzenn

I'd be interested in seeing what the OED has to say about -esque,  Pan.  -Ish means approximate/approximately and can be added to different parts of speech.   -esque changes certain nouns into adjectives. So, you can say bluish but not blue-esque. -ish is very productive, but -esque  isn't. There are many nouns that I couldn't add -esque to, while -ish goes with almost anything.


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## Diablo919

No one uses esque where I am unless they are talking about something elegant


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## Augusto-Cesar

Salve!
I suppose we must blame those grammarians during the late middle ages to the Renaissance who thought it proper and more refined to add a more 'Frenchesque' (no pun intended by all means)  sound to the English language and instead dropping the more Germanic sounding and 'barbarish'  ending -_ish_!

Your emperor,

Augustus-Cesar


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## elroy

suzzzenn said:
			
		

> I'd be interested in seeing what the OED has to say about -esque, Pan. -Ish means approximate/approximately and can be added to different parts of speech. -esque changes certain nouns into adjectives. So, you can say bluish but not blue-esque. -ish is very productive, but -esque isn't. There are many nouns that I couldn't add -esque to, while -ish goes with almost anything.


 
This is only a reflection of current trends.

In formal English, "-ish" is probably just as exclusive as "-esque," so there's nothing that says "blue-esque" may not become colloquial in the future (bearing in mind, of course, that "bluish" happens to be standard, as opposed to, say, "4:50ish.")


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## panjandrum

-esque:
Occurring in many words coming through French from Italian, as in _arabesque_, _burlesque_, _Dantesque_, _grotesque_, _romanesque_, where the suffix has the sense
*‘resembling the style partaking of the characteristics of’*. 
In Italy derivatives in _-esco_ are formed _ad libitum_ on names of artists, and French and English writers on art have imitated this practice. 
The words formed with this suffix on English nouns are chiefly nonce-words of a jocular character, as _cigaresque_.
Summarised from:
OED


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## AntoineH

I don't no more than you about the -ish but I confirme the -esque comes directly from french. (or through french)

All those examples are very good but don't forget the gargantuesque, my favorite.


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## suzzzenn

I don't think blue-esque is grammatically correct because esque is found on a) borrowed words where the -esque moepheme was already present before being incorporated into English, or English nouns. As for future trends, no one can predict that, but I doubt that -esque would ever become as productive (widely and flexibly used) as -ish is.


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## Pablochopper

I would guess that the "ish" ending is from Anglo-Saxon English (compare to the German "isch"?) whereas "esque" comes from French.  I would use both and one ending just sounds better than the other for some words.  For example you might say "Europeanesque" but "Europeanish" sounds very strange.  "Bluesque" also sounds particularly odd.

I would say that "ish" gives an idea of approximation whereas "esque" implies that something has an amount of that quality, ie "Europeaneque" - has some European quality about it.


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## foxfirebrand

suzzzenn said:
			
		

> As for future trends, no one can predict that, but I doubt that -esque would ever become as productive (widely and flexibly used).


I agree.  There's something quirky or latently facetious about _-esque_ words in English, AE at least.  I think the most common of them, _grotesque,_ set the tone.  It's almost usurped the very uncommon derogatory enclitic _-aster_ (_-accio_ in Italian).  As it's used with people, as an adjective denoting the salient qualities of each, it seems to attach to more unserious or even unsavory ones.  You get "Shakespearean" and "Shavian" but "Chaplinesque"-- which brings to mind the other firmly-entrenched and tone-setting _-esque_ word in English, "Burlesque."

Well of course awkward sounds have to be avoided, so we have "Rabelaisian" and "Gargauntuan" on one hand (sorry, AntoineH), and "McLuhanesque" and perhaps "Lincolnesque" on the other.  Such proper-noun adjectives aren't that common outside of Academia (which seems enamored of them), so there aren't rigid standards-- but I'd say _-ish_ formations of this sort are rare, and when used have a certain facetious or emphatically-colloquial timbre to them.
.


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## Brioche

I'd say that if the critics described a film as "Chaplinesque", it would probably be praise,
if they said "Chaplin-ish" it would not.


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## foxfirebrand

Brioche said:
			
		

> I'd say that if the critics described a film as "Chaplinesque", it would probably be praise,
> if they said "Chaplin-ish" it would not.


 
Well, Chaplin was nothing if not facetious, and he did work in burlesque.  Chaplin was Chaplin-- calling someone _else_ chaplinesque would be high praise.

I agree with _-ish _being generally uncomplimentary.


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## marie_h

To add my grain of salt to a fascinating thread, words I have come across with the suffix *-ish* often take on a slightly pejorative tinge, while the ones ending in *-esque* take on a more "noble" connotation.

*-ish* adjectives seem to apply to colours or descriptive adjectives (greenish, tallish) that are not quite like the original (greenish is less pleasant than green)
*-esque* adjectives abound in literary/photography critique, although I personally prefer the *-ian* form (I would use *shakesperian*, but not _chaplinian_, for instance!)


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## Isotta

I will say that "Shakespearean" (or "Shakespearian") is a well-establish adjective, as is "racinien," and I believe adding "-esque" is a somewhat more recent phenomenon?

Isotta.


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## cuchuflete

How curious.  If the much-praised WR search function is to be believed, not a soul has yet used one of these words here during this entire year:

statuesque

May Michelangelo Buonarroti and Jayne Mansfield forgive us the oversight.


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## panjandrum

*Kafkaesque* has made only one appearance.  
Odd really - there can't be all that many public servants posting here after all


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## cuchuflete

panjandrum said:
			
		

> *Kafkaesque* has made only one appearance.
> Odd really - there can't be all that many *public servants *posting here after all



Sorry Panj, 

That one belongs in the oxymoron thread, together with somewhat honest, microsoft help, military justice, and government organization.

Gregor


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## foxfirebrand

No hits for Rubensesque either.  _-esque_ is one of my favorite enclitics, and I'm glad it's not seeing a lot of overuse.  I'm not even gonna search _Junoesque,_ a fanciful synonym for the aforementioned-- although I just realized.  All these unmentioned words that aren't coming up?  They will _now._ 

In all this talk of _-ish_ endings, I have been waiting for one to occur to me that is used in the standard adjective denoting a person's name, or a literary character.  I was going to put up a fat paragraph or four about it being a default suffix for people whose names _don't_ have a form like "Rubensesque" or "Marlovian," or argue the point that the _-esque_ words didn't refer directily to the person't qualities, but those of his work, Rubens and Kafka being good examples.  Well, I'm mixing apples and oranges here, and the second topic could still be brought up-- in fact didn't I just?

Anyway, I finally thought of an _-ish_ name-- Puckish.  A little vain of me to take credit for thinking of things, I just realize-- in reality I just wait for them to occur to me.  It's a senior thing, some of you wouldn't understand.

Anybody else have examples, words like _puckish?_


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## Isotta

foxfirebrand said:
			
		

> No hits for Rubensesque either.



Is it because it's "Rubenesque," which garners about 130.000 hits?

Z.


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## foxfirebrand

Well, does it _have_ all those hits, or does it _garner_ them?

Seriously-- I must've had my ear turned off!  Nope, just checked, and _Rubensesque_ doesn't clink.  But it should, it's wrong.  Thanks for the correction-- I wish people weren't so shy about that, here of all places.  Especially on the other-language forums, where I _know_ I'm making more mistakes than I'm getting corrections.

Well, after first frost, which should be soon, I'll be avataring in my non-yawning and less-forbidding-looking form.  The rate of corrections should go up a bit.

But what about the _-ish _names?  _Puckish_ can't be the only one.  Or _-ic_ forms if you can't think of any, like _Satanic._
_._


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## Isotta

Yes, I know, I'm quite the techaster.

Google fails me... I have found slightly more hits for "Poeish" than "Poesque..." I'll keep thinking.

Z.


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## SweetMommaSue

May I join in here, too?  The American Heritage dictionary (1991) gives another definition for -ish: 4. tending toward; preoccupied with: _selfish._


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## te gato

Here we use -ish more when we are not sure of the EXACT...
"I think the car was blackish...no...wait..maybe it was green"
That way if you are wrong you have an out...
As for -esque..
It depends on the word and what you are trying to say...
"The mountains were so picturesque"
"it was very Picasso-esque"..

tg


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## foxfirebrand

Just thought of a couple more examples of the tendency toward the slightly derogatory, in using _-ish_ words.

Childlike vs childish.
Horselike vs mulish.

A petite waist can be "wasplike," but "waspish" has an edgier meaning if not outright derogatory.

A baboon might have a "pig-like" snout, but you only use "piggish" to denote an unbecoming attitude or behavioral trait.  Same with "swinish."


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## juglice

I ran across this site while researching "rubenesque" vs "rubenSesque".   The online Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary only acknowledges "rubenesque", "rubenSesque" is not even listed as a variant.    The 2d Merriam-Webster Unabridged (1950) doesn't have either, but uses "RubenSian" as the adjective or noun.

On the other hand, the Oxford English dictionary prefers "rubenSesque", with a cross-reference from "rubenesque".    On the other hand, it use "rubeniste" as an admirer of Rubens.

So neither dictionary is consistent.

I think that -like or -ian is closer to -esque in most cases, and is usually indicates an approximation, but of course that rule is tried by "waspish".


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## sambistapt

Hello amigos 

I´ve got a doubt about the usage of the suffix "ish", Are there certain adjectives where it can be placed after? Might you show me a few examples? I just know the word greenish , I´d like a clarification from the foreros on this issue 

Thanks in advance,

Happy easter to you all!!!

Sambista


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## Dimcl

sambistapt said:


> Hello amigos
> 
> I´ve got a doubt about the usage of the suffix "ish", Are there certain adjectives where it can be placed after? Might you show me a few examples? I just know the word greenish , I´d like a clarification from the foreros on this issue
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Happy easter to you all!!!
> 
> Sambista


 
Happy Easter to you, Sambista. "Ish" is often "tacked on" to certain words to signify a "not exactly, but sort of" description. For example, if you invited me to your home for a casual get-together of friends, you might say "Come over about sevenish" meaning "around 7:00". "Greenish" would mean "sort of" green. The sky might have a "pinkish" colour as the sun sets. These are not proper words but "ish" is used frequently in this way.


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## AWordLover

Hi sambistapt,

 The suffix "ish" works with other colors too, like yellowish. 

How about selfish, childish, stand-offish to name a few.

Confident speakers may also add "ish" to almost anything to convey the idea that we're talking about something that is approximately like the original. I'll be there at 7:30ish, meaning near 7:30. He was a largish man, wearing an outlandish and garish outfit. Sadly, tweaking the language is easier for native speakers.


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## rhiannonhelen

I would have thought that "garish" and "outlandish" do not belong to this catergory since "outland" and "gar" do not stand as words in their own right.  You can't be "sort of gar"! Do you think?


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## Dimcl

AWordLover said:


> He was a largish man, wearing an outlandish and garish outfit.


 
Poor Sam - we're really going to confuse things now.   "Largish" is one of those "made-up" words that we've been discussing and "outlandish" and "garish" aren't.  

Sam, AWordLover's sentence clearly shows why he says that native-speakers have an easier time "tweaking" the language.  We instinctively know how to "mix and match" the proper words with the colloquial ones.


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## NileQT87

I use -esque, -ish, -y, -ie, -ness, -er, -ism, -ist, -able, -age, -licious, -ly, -palooza, -ster, -thing(y), -o, -ette, -ify(ied), -ed, -ize(d), etc... all the time. Being that I'm an American teenager, all of these colloquialisms are hard to live without. über- is a prefix that is used to mean "super" nowadays in English, even if it means "over" in German.

In a very teen way, I would say I am very "suffixy". Shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (there is even the coined term "Joss speak" among the fans--"slayage" being an obvious example), for example, made this kind of speech even more common with American youth--much of which had roots in Valley girlisms and So.Cal speech.

Also, prefixes and suffixes off of recognizable word sources is often used to create new words. So one can steal -dom off of "kingdom", -ocity off of "velocity", and such... Thus, I could say my Amberdom has an über amount of Amberocity.

For example, a famous quote from "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" by Han Solo is "Yes, your highnessness." This phrase is said in a fairly condescending manner contextually; however, this kind of usage might also be used in a joking manner. "Your worshipfulness" is yet another Han Soloism.

The -ness suffix is basically the state of being something. So for "smartness" it is the state of being smart.

There is also the common practice of making nouns into adjectives, even those that haven't completely made it into the dictionary yet. Example: "to wig" or "to freak out" and "to wonk", which brings us the word "wonky", which means something is malfunctioning.

As for another non-color adjective with an -ish suffix... "smartish" for "kind of smart". Most -ish suffixes get tacked on nouns though.


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## gwiz

Found this article that explains the origin pretty well. Since I just created an account (yes, just to add my two cents here), I can't link directly to it (b/c I'm a new member), so goto *www.Randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19990617*

To paraphrase:


> Well, first, it's hardly a neologism; the suffix *-ish* has, in one sense or another, been in English since the beginning. But some of its senses are comparatively new.
> - existed in Old English (then spelled *-isc* but pronounced the same way), such as 'of, being, or pertaining to', (*British, Jewish*).
> - Also: 'after the manner of; having the characteristics of; like', few Old English survining words are *cildisc* 'childish' and *cierlisc* 'churlish'.
> - from the Middle English period: 'embarrassed or bashful' *babyish, boyish, clownish, foolish, girlish*, and *selfish*.
> - From early ninteenth century: 'addicted to; inclined or tending to': *bookish, thievish, **Mark Twainish, Queen Anne-ish, jolly-good-fellowish*, etc.
> - Early Twentieth century: 'near; approximately', *thirtyish, sevenish,* etc.
> - Recently, evolving from color terms: 'somewhat; rather': *oldish; reddish; sweetish*.
> - An ending cognate with *-ish* is found in various Germanic languages. It is related to the Greek diminutive suffix *-iskos*;
> - suffix *-esque* (*picturesque; Kafkaesque*) is ultimately from the Germanic source of *-ish* but was borrowed through French.
> - Not all words that end in -ish are from the suffix:*nourish, perish; extinguish*.


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