English
fictionish
Fictionish comes from Middle English ficcioun ‘an invention or fabrication’, from Latin fictiō ‘fashioning, forming, formation’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to form, to shape’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-‘to form, to shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰinéǵʰti‘to form, shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θingōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*fingō‘to knead, form’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfingō‘to shape, fashion, form, knead (dough)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfictiō‘fashioning, forming, formation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ficcion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ficcioun‘an invention or fabrication’
- English1500–presentfiction
- Englishearliest quotation 1908fictionish
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-‘to form, to shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰinéǵʰti‘to form, shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θingōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*fingō‘to knead, form’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfingō‘to shape, fashion, form, knead (dough)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfictiō‘fashioning, forming, formation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ficcion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ficcioun‘an invention or fabrication’
- English1500–presentfiction
- Englishearliest quotation 1908fictionish
Earliest quotation: 1908, Maria Price La Touche, The Letters of a Noble Woman (Mrs. La Touche of Harristown): “The only fictionish thing about it is his having…”
A compound of fiction + -ish
Latin fingō ‘to form, devise, feign’
Latin fictiō ‘a making; a feigning’
Old French ficcion ‘dissimulation, invention’
Middle English ficcioun ‘invention, fabrication’
English fiction
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to form, to shape’
lady, figure, dairy, paradise, dough, faint, dey, 25 more
through Latin fingō ‘to shape, fashion, form, knead (dough)’
effigy, feign, fictitious, feint, figment, 17 more
through English fiction
Today it means
adj Similar to fiction.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- / fictionish