English

Proper noun

Ish

1. A diminutive of the male given name Ishmael.

Anagrams

• his , His
• IHS
• shi

English

Verb

ish

1. Eye dialect spelling of is.

Etymology 2

From the suffix -ish.

Adverb

ish ‎(not comparable)

1. (colloquial) somewhat, reasonably, fairly

   The exam went well, ish.

   "Was the film any good?" "Ish."

2. (colloquial) about, approximately
   • 1974, Kingsley Amis, Ending up‎, page 11:

     'With luck, about twelve.' 'Ah,' said Bernard. 'Twelve-thirty. Ish.'

   • 2007, Marne Davis Kellogg, Friends in High Places, page 283:

     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.

Synonyms

• around, near, nearly, almost, about, loosely, roughly, close to

Translations

Etymology 3

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.

Noun

ish ‎(plural ishes)

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

Related terms

• esh, the IPA letter for the same sound
• zhee

Etymology 4

Phonetic spelling of the clipping of issue.

Noun

ish ‎(plural ishes)

1. (dated, fandom slang) An instalment of a periodical; an issue.
   • 1939 August 5, Tucker, "Bob", Le Zombie, number 10, page 3:

     "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.

   • 1961 July, Scithers, George H., Amra, volume 2, number 16, page 2:

     Next ish: a guide to who is who of the Howard heroes in the centerspread.

   • 1967 June, Maynard, Drake, If, volume 17, number 6, page 160:

     My sincerest apologies to Brother Ron Smith in the December ish.

Derived terms

• annish
• thish

Etymology 5

Minced oath for ****.

Noun

ish ‎(uncountable)

1. (euphemistic) ****.
   • 2010, Jill Murray, Break On Through, page 15:

     Anyone, really, but seriously, you'd think that people whose very passion depends on their lungs would want to cut that ish out

   • 2012, Dipal Parikh, Walking with Krishna: Based on True Life Events, page 154:

     I owe you a lot Dipal, so put that ish away.

   • 2013, Ivy McQuain, Get Your Head Out of the Clouds, This Is Business, page 25:

     Now, it's time to get your ish together.

   • 2015, Ni-Ni Simone, ‎Amir Abrams, Lights, Love & Lip Gloss, page 51:

     I passed on that craziness. I wasn't messing with that ish.

Anagrams

• his , His
• IHS
• shi

References

• (Periodical): Jeff Prucher, editor (2007) Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-530567-8, pages 101–102
• (Periodical): ish n. at the OED Science Fiction Citations Project

Albanian

Alternative forms

• ush

Etymology

Onomatopoeic

Verb

ish

1. chase chicken away

Pipil

Etymology

From Proto-Nahuan *iːx-, from Proto-Uto-Aztecan *pusi. Compare Classical Nahuatl īxtli ‎(“eye”).

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): /iːʃ/
• (Izalco) IPA^(key): /iʃ/

Noun

-īsh (plural -ijīsh)

1. eye, (sometimes "face" in compounds)

   Shiktzajtzakwa ne muish!‎

   Close your eyes!

2. seed, grain

   Tikichkwat ne tal ipal tiktukat ne ish ne kakawat‎

   We plough the land to plant the cacao seed

3. eyehole, hole, opening
4. bead