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coltish

[kohl-tish]
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adjective
  1. playful; frolicsome.
  2. of, relating to, or resembling a colt.
  3. not trained or disciplined; unruly; wild.
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Origin of coltish

1350–1400; Middle English. See colt, -ish1
Related formscolt·ish·ly, adverbcolt·ish·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for coltish

Historical Examples

  • He dwelt on their coltish doings, their adventures sought and wrought in the perfect fellowship of youth.

    The Virginian

    Owen Wister

  • Rousing themselves from coltish recollections of their own, perhaps, the horses began to trot.

    Old Caravan Days

    Mary Hartwell Catherwood

  • Youth is uncharitable to youth, so coltish and impatient with shortcomings, and so infinitely borable.

    The Secrets of a Kuttite

    Edward O. Mousley

  • Evidently he held to the rowels in fond memory of his days of 17 slender youth and coltish gambolings.

    Bred of the Desert

    Marcus Horton

  • The Professor's Coltish Daughter regained her adolescent poise, which was considerable.

    What's He Doing in There?

    Fritz Reuter Leiber

British Dictionary definitions for coltish

coltish

adjective
  1. inexperienced; unruly
  2. playful and lively
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Derived Formscoltishly, adverbcoltishness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for coltish

adj.

late 14c., "wild, frisky," also in early use "lustful, lewd," from colt + -ish. Lit. sense of "pertaining to a colt" is recorded from 1540s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper