currish

The word 'currish' is a straightforward English compound. Its first element, 'cur', entered Middle English from a Scandinavian source, referring to a worthless or aggressive mongrel dog, a term of contempt. The second element is the native English adjectival suffix '-ish', which denotes possession of a quality. Therefore, the literal construction "dog-like" evolved specifically to imply the negative qualities associated with a snarling, ill-tempered cur: meanness, spitefulness, and a base nature. This semantic shift from a literal animal comparison to an abstract character insult is a classic pattern in English adjective formation.

Structure: cur (dog) + ish (adjective suffix) - cur: From Middle English 'curre', meaning a mongrel or aggressive dog, likely of Scandinavian origin. - ish: A suffix forming adjectives, from Old English '-isc', of Germanic origin, meaning "having the character or nature of".