-ish - The Dictionary

-ishsuff.1. Of, relating to, or being: Swedish.2. a. Characteristic of: girlish.b. Having the usually undesirable qualities of: childish.3. Approximately; somewhat: greenish.4. Tending toward; preoccupied with: selfish.[Middle English, from Old English -isc.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.-ish suffix forming adjectives 1. of or belonging to a nationality or group: Scottish. 2. often derogatory having the manner or qualities of; resembling: slavish; prudish; boyish. 3. somewhat; approximately: yellowish; sevenish. 4. concerned or preoccupied with: bookish. [Old English -isc; related to German -isch, Greek -iskos]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014-ish1 , 1. a suffix forming adjectives from nouns, with the meanings ?pertaining to? (British; Spanish); ?after the manner of,? ?having the characteristics of,? ?like? (babyish; girlish; mulish); ?addicted to,? ?inclined or tending to? (bookish; freakish); ?near or about? (fiftyish; sevenish). 2. a suffix forming adjectives from other adjectives, with the meanings ?somewhat,? ?rather? (oldish; reddish; sweetish). [Middle English; Old English -isc; c. Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old High German -isc, Gothic -isks, Greek -iskos; akin to -esque] -ish2 , a formative occurring in verbs borrowed from French ( nourish; perish), used rarely to form verbs in English from Latin bases ( extinguish). [