Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “smallish” come from?

Smallish derives from English small plus the suffix -isch from Middle English, -isċ from Old English, ultimately from Proto-Germanic smalaz and Proto-Indo-European (s)mel-.

smallish (English): Somewhat small

Definitions

  1. Somewhat small

Ancestry of “smallish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ishTypical of, similar to, being like; Somewhat,...
2Middle English-ishAlternative form of -yssh
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
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -iskos →