Dictionary

hoydenish en · ADJ

Etymology

Etymology tree English hoyden Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -isch English -ish English hoydenish From hoyden + -ish.

Meanings

1. Somewhat hoyden.
   • ...the money Lady Penryhn produced was as little as her services were great; she therefore, (guaranteed by a look from her grace) in a kind of mock-hoydenish manner, seized all the purses, emptied them into the auctioneer's hat, and declared that, as every one present had done their best, all were equal benefactors to the charity;... 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLI, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 224:
   • To his left sat two Hindu students. At his right there was Professor Hagen’s daughter, a hoydenish Drama major. 1957 March 7, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 3.7, in Pnin, Heinemann, page 80:

Forms

Deriveds

hoydenishly · hoydenishness