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Word part · Anglo-Saxon suffix

The Anglo-Saxon suffix -ish

Means: a bit, or like.

At a glance

Part
-ish
Meaning
a bit, or like
Layer
Anglo-Saxon: Short everyday words, compounds and the most common prefixes and suffixes.

A greenish shirt is only partly green; a childish joke is like something a small child would say.

Example words

Read each word, then its sum: the parts that build it, and what they mean together.

Colors:prefixroot or basesuffix

  • child (root or base)+ish (suffix)→childish

    like a small child

  • green (root or base)+ish (suffix)→greenish

    a bit green

  • red (root or base)+ish (suffix)→reddish

    a bit red

    red + ish: double the last letter → reddish

  • self (root or base)+ish (suffix)→selfish

    caring only about yourself

  • fool (root or base)+ish (suffix)→foolish

    like a fool; not wise

  • blue (root or base)+ish (suffix)→bluish

    a bit blue

    blue + ish: drop the e → bluish

Original word lists and meanings written by Literacy Trail.