- Originally a suffix (-ish) meaning similar to or having the characteristics of, it has become an independent morpheme and a word in its own right through the process of derivation. Because its original form was added to words (such as grayish) to indicate that it had some characteristics of the word, but was not completely gray, it came to mean a way of saying in-between. It can be positive, neutral, or negative depending on the context.
Ish.
adjective; zero derivation
okay, neither good nor bad; unimpressive
Etymology : Zero-derivation of the suffix “-ish,” meaning similar to or having the characteristics of.
Source : A conversation with a friend, August 2011. “Was the test hard?” “Eh, it was ish.” “How was the food?” “It looked pretty good, but it was kind of ish.”
Last modified: 5 December 2011