Dictionary

temperish en · ADJ

Etymology

From temper + -ish.

Meanings

1. Peevish; cross.
   • If our reaction is temperish, Great Britain gets it five minutes after she sends her message. 1931, Jennie Grace Walker, Habits and Skills, page 137:
   • The day Barry left, Pugin made a temperish comment in his diary: 'The present condition of the architecture is deplorable. Truth reduced to the position of an interesting but rare and curious relic.' 2016, Caroline Shenton, Mr Barry's War:
   • As a general rule he had five simple emotion gears: he was either hungry, sleepy, curious, frightened, or temperish . 2017, Robert Edmond Alter, Shovel Nose and the Gator Grabbers:
2. Having a bad-tempered disposition; moody or volatile.
   • His whole person was noticeable, too – the wide, ridgy shoulders, tumbling fair hair and queer, light eyes, temperish, pouted mouth and heavy jaw. 1931, Dorothy Leigh Sayers, The Five Red Herrings:
   • It is discerned that a child is temperish, or so inclined; the intention, of course, is to avert the current of this coming tide. 1898, John B. Small, The Human Heart Illustrated by Nine Figures of the Heart:
   • Emilia Trask had money but she had a temperish look. 1931, Lucy Maud Montgomery, A Tangled Web:

Forms