brackish

the word "brackish" entered english in the 16th century, adapted from the now-obsolete dutch term 'brac', which described water that was salty or briny. the dutch word itself has germanic roots, likely related to the concept of saltiness. the english suffix '-ish', of old english origin, was appended to form an adjective meaning "somewhat salty" or "having a salty quality." thus, the term literally and logically describes water that is not fully saline like the sea, but possesses a discernible, unpleasant saltiness, typically found in estuaries or coastal marshes.

Structure: brack (salty) + ish (adjective suffix) brack (from middle dutch 'brac', meaning salty or brackish, of germanic origin) + ish (a suffix forming adjectives, from old english '-isc', of germanic origin, meaning "having the quality of").