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Etymology and origin of the English word -ish

English has two suffixes spelled -ish: one native, in adjectives, and one from French, in verbs.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

-ish1 in adjectives

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
Inherited from
Old English -isc via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *-iskaz

Etymology

The adjective suffix is inherited from Middle English -ish,[5][6] inherited from Old English -isc,[1][7][2][6] from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz,[4][2][7] from the same Indo-European base as the Greek diminutive noun suffix -ισκος (-iskos).[1][7][2][6] It is cognate with Gothic -𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (-isks), Old Norse -iskr, Old High German -isc, Old Saxon -isc, Old Frisian -isc, German -isch and Dutch -isch.[1][2][3] The MED adds that Old Norse -isk- reinforced it in Middle English.[5] The Germanic suffix was borrowed as Italian -esco, Spanish -esco and French -esque, the source of -esque.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Old English and its relatives it chiefly formed adjectives from names of peoples, with the sense of belonging to that nation.[1][7] These had umlaut in the stem, which survives in English, French and Welsh, but was later undone in Scottish and Danish.[1][2]

Semantic evolution

A few adjectives on common nouns existed in Old English, such as ċildisc, childish, and hǣðenisc, heathenish.[2] Middle English added many more, at first with a neutral meaning of pertaining to.[2][1] Later it was mostly used on words with a bad sense (boorish, foolish) or to mean having the unpleasant qualities of something, as in selfish and womanish.[2][3][6] From the 14th century it went on adjectives to mean somewhat, apparently first on words of colour.[2][1] English is unusual among its relatives in this use.[1] In the 20th century it spread to hours and ages to mean approximately, as with sevenish.[7][1][2]

Timeline

  • Old English – adjectives from names of peoples: Englisc.[1][8]
  • 1382 – foolish.[1]
  • 1398 – reddish, approaching a colour.[1]
  • 1628 – selfish.[1]
  • 1916 – added to hours of the day.[1][7]

Meanings

Suffix

  1. Forming adjectives of nationality or group: Finnish, Turkish.[9][6][3]
  2. Forming adjectives that mean having the manner or qualities of something, often derogatory: boyish, mulish, amateurish.[9][6][2]
  3. Forming adjectives that mean inclined to or preoccupied with something: bookish.[9][6]
  4. Forming adjectives that mean somewhat: yellowish, latish.[9][6][1]
  5. Forming adjectives that mean about a time or age: sevenish, fortyish.[9][6][1]

Word family

-ish2 in verbs

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Old French -iss- via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin -isc-

Etymology

The verbal suffix is inherited from Middle English -isshe, earlier -is and -isse,[1][2] borrowed from Old French -iss-, the extended stem of French verbs in -ir, as in French périssant from périr,[1][2][3][7] from the inceptive verb suffix Latin -isc-.[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Italian, Occitan and French the Latin inceptive suffix was extended to form a class of simple verbs.[1][2] At first English had the ending as -is, -ise or -isse, and this changed to -isshe before 1400.[1] Scots kept the older form longer, and in the 16th century it appears as -eis, as in pereis.[1][2]

Semantic evolution

Other French endings were levelled under it in Anglo-Norman or English, as in admonish, astonish, distinguish and publish.[1][2][3] In a few words the same French stem appears as -ise or -ize, as in advertise, chastise and amortize, and it is hidden in rejoice.[1][2] It is no longer a suffix that English speakers use for new words: Etymonline calls it a mere relic of the French present participle.[7]

Timeline

  • before 1400 – -is, -ise change to -isshe.[1]
  • 16th century – Scots -eis.[1][2]

Meanings

Suffix

  1. The ending of verbs from French verbs in -ir: abolish, finish, punish.[3][7][1]

Word family

Usage notes

On an adjective the suffix doesn't affect stress, as in yellowish; in a verb the syllable before it is stressed.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  9. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Related etymologies

  • clay · also from Old English
  • dawn · also from Old English
  • yea · also from Old English
  • pipe · also from Old English
  • gather · also from Old English
  • swim · also from Old English
  • sink · also from Old English
  • bitter · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“-ish.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/-ish. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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