-isch

Etymology

Borrowed from German -isch. The native Dutch cognates are -s, earlier -sch.^[1] The pronunciation /is/ is due to an earlier pronunciation standard, by which all German vowels were to be tense. (The contemporary German standard pronunciation is /ɪʃ/.) More at -ish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /is/
• (Some southern dialects) IPA^(key): /ɪs/

Suffix

-isch

1. -ic, -ian

   fantastisch ― fantastic

   utopisch ― utopian

References

Etymology

From Middle High German -isch, from Old High German -isc, from Proto-West Germanic *-isk, from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪʃ/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /əʃ/ (variant in common speech)

• Audio:

  (file)

Suffix

-isch

1. an adjectival suffix, often matching -ic and -ical
2. of a nationality, or the language associated with a nationality; often matches -ish or -ian

See also

• -'sch, -sch
• -lich
• -ig

Suffix

-isch

1. Alternative form of -yssh

Etymology

From Old High German -isc, from Proto-West Germanic *-isk, from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos.

Suffix

-isch

1. used to form adjectives

   ‎alp (“elf”) + ‎-isch → ‎elbisch (“elven”)

2. used to form demonyms

   ‎Ītālia (“Italy”) + ‎-isch → ‎ītālisch (“Italian”)