Where does “-ish” come from?

-ish (Middle English) comes from Old English -isċ, from Proto-West Germanic -isk, from Proto-Germanic -iskaz, from Proto-Indo-European -iskos — Characteristic of, typical of, pertaining to.

-ish (Middle English): Alternative form of -yssh

Definitions

  1. Alternative form of -yssh

Ancestry of “-ish”, step by step

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

Words derived from “-ish”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -iskos →
-ish — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer