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mannish

[man-ish]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mannish ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

being typical or suggestive of a man rather than a woman: mannish clothing styles for women; a mannish voice.
resembling a man, as in size or manner: a mannish youth.

Origin of mannish

before 900; Middle English; replacing Middle English mennish, Old English mennisc; see man1, -ish1
Related formsman·nish·ly, adverbman·nish·ness, nounun·man·nish, adjectiveun·man·nish·ly, adverbun·man·nish·ness, noun

Synonyms for mannish

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mannish ON THESAURUS.COM
1, 2. See manly.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for mannish

macho, male, manly, masculine, butch, hoydenish, tomboyish, unfeminine

Examples from the Web for mannish

Contemporary Examples of mannish

Historical Examples of mannish

  • Yet she had none of the mannish mannerisms that so often accompany an "athletic" girl.

    Tutors' Lane

    Wilmarth Lewis

  • The girls out there usually got rough and mannish after they went to herding.

    My Antonia

    Willa Cather

  • I was afraid I should find them mannish and rough, or sentimental and conceited.

    An Old-fashioned Girl

    Louisa May Alcott

  • "Now, don't forget about that," said one of the mannish women.

    Sister Carrie

    Theodore Dreiser

  • Allie was a masculine creature, who affected a mannish cut of clothes.

    Painted Veils

    James Huneker

British Dictionary definitions for mannish

mannish

adjective

(of a woman) having or displaying qualities regarded as typical of a man
of or resembling a man
Derived Formsmannishly, adverbmannishness, 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 mannish
adj.

Old English mennisc "human, human-like, natural," from Proto-Germanic *manniska- (cf. Old Saxon mannisc, Old High German mennisc, Gothic mannisks), from *manna- (see man (n.)). In some cases a new formation from man (n.) + -ish.

Sense of "masculine" is from late 14c.; in reference to women seen as masculine, from late 14c. Of adult males (opposed to childish) from 1520s. Related: Mannishly; mannishness. The proto-Germanic adjective became, in some languages, a noun meaning "human" (cf. German Mensch), and in Old English mannish also was used as a noun "mankind, folk, race, people."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper