ish

verb, adv, noun and 1 more — 7 senses

ish

verb

/ɪʃ/

Etymology From is.

1

Pronunciation spelling Pronunciation spelling of is.

ish

adv

Etymology Back-formation from -ish.

1

Colloquial somewhat, reasonably, fairly

  • The exam went well... mostly... ish.
  • "Was the film any good?" – "Ish."
1 more example
  • This is where I started. Does Hermione like Dark Souls? Ish.26 May 2012, Jason VandenBerghe, “The Five Domains of Play”, Gotland Game Conference, Uppsala University
2

Colloquial about, approximately

  • 'With luck, about twelve.' 'Ah,' said Bernard. 'Twelve-thirty. Ish.'1974, Kingsley Amis, Ending up, page 11:
  • How old are you? Fifty-ish?" / "Ish." / The color flared in her cheeks but she didn't look as though she were going to shoot me.2007, Marne Davis Kellogg, Friends in High Places, page 283:
1 more example
  • (episode 38 of Manifest) Eagen: "Don't blame Little House on the Prairie. I was very charming." Angelina: "Did you lie about being an orphan too?"2021 May, “Bogey”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)
Synonyms
fairly, rather, somewhat, about, almost, around, close to, loosely, near, nearly, roughly, round about

ish

noun

Etymology From Pitman ess and eff, which it resembles phonetically and graphically, and the sound it represents. The change in vowel probably reflects the familiar suffix -ish.

1

The letter which stands for the sh sound /ʃ/ in Pitman shorthand.

Related terms
esh, the IPA letter for the same sound, zhee

ish

intj
1

Canada, US, Informal, Regional ick, yuck

Related terms
ishy, eesh

ish

noun

Etymology Phonetic spelling of the clipping of issue.

1

Lifestyle Dated, Slang An instalment of a periodical; an issue.

  • "A LITTLE UNPLEASANTNESS" DEPT: Fantasy Digest says in it's^([sic]) latest ish: Quote: Some unpleasantness was caused when Don Wollheim and his brother Futurians were not allowed in the Convention Hall. Unquote.1939 August 5, "Bob" Tucker, “Archived copy”, in Le Zombie, number 10, archived from the original on 24 Jan 2013, page 3:
  • Next ish: a guide to who is who of the Howard heroes in the centerspread.1961 July, George H. Scithers, Amra, volume 2, number 16, page 2:
1 more example
  • My sincerest apologies to Brother Ron Smith in the December ish.1967 June, Drake Maynard, If, volume 17, number 6, page 160:
Derived terms
annish, thish

ish

noun

Etymology From earlier isht, a minced oath and metathetic alteration of shit. Possibly inspired by the sound of the word shit when backmasked in radio edits of hip-hop songs.

1

Euphemistic Shit (in various senses).

African-American Vernacular

  • Anyone, really, but seriously, you'd think that people whose very passion depends on their lungs would want to cut that ish out2010, Jill Murray, Break On Through, page 15:
  • I owe you a lot Dipal, so put that ish away.2012, Dipal Parikh, Walking with Krishna: Based on True Life Events, page 154:
2 more examples
  • Now, it's time to get your ish together.2013, Ivy McQuain, Get Your Head Out of the Clouds, This Is Business, page 25:
  • I passed on that craziness. I wasn't messing with that ish.2015, Ni-Ni Simone, Amir Abrams, Lights, Love & Lip Gloss, page 51:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.