Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “childish” come from?

Childish comes from Middle English childissh, from Old English ċildisċ, meaning resembling or characteristic of a child.

childish (English): Of or suitable for a child; Behaving immaturely

Definitions

  1. Of or suitable for a child; Behaving immaturely

Ancestry of “childish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishchildisshchildish, juvenile
2Old Englishċildisċ—
3Old English-isċ-ish
4Proto-West Germanic-iskCreates adjectives from nouns
5Proto-Germanic-iskazForms adjectives from nouns with the sense of...
6Proto-Indo-European-iskosCharacteristic of, typical of, pertaining to

Words derived from “childish”

  • childishness
  • childishly
  • unchildish
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -iskos →