Where does “impish” come from?
Impish derives from Middle English -isch, from Middle English -en, from Old English -en, from Latin imputo meaning to ascribe or attribute, prefixed with Latin in-.
impish (English): mischievous; of or befitting an imp
Definitions
- mischievous; of or befitting an imp
Ancestry of “impish”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | imp | A small, mischievous sprite, or a malevolent... |
| 2 | Middle English | impen | Alternative form of ympen |
| 3 | Old English | impian | to graft |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | impōn | to graft |
| 5 | Latin | imputō | to reckon, charge, enter into the account |
| 6 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 7 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 8 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |