*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -esque

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-iskbor. Vulgar Latin -iscus Italian -escobor. French -esquebor. English -esque Borrowed from French -esque (“-ish, -ic, -esque”), fr

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

In the style or manner of; appended to nouns, especially proper nouns, and forming adjectives. · Resembling; appended to nouns, especially proper nouns, and forming adjectives.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-iskbor. Vulgar Latin -iscus Italian -escobor. French -esquebor. English -esque Borrowed from French -esque (“-ish, -ic, -esque”), from Italian -esco, from Latin -iscus, of Germanic origin, from Lombardic -isc (“-ish”), from Proto-West Germanic *-isk, from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz (“-ish”), from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos. Cognate with Old High German -isc (German -isch), Old English -isċ, Old Norse -iskr, Gothic -𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (-isks). Doublet of -ish and -ski.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:-esque",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-iskos\nProto-Germanic *-iskaz\nProto-West Germanic *-iskbor.\nVulgar Latin -iscus\nItalian -escobor.\nFrench -esquebor.\nEnglish -esque\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"suf\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"suf\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjective\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"pertaining to\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"pertaining to\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-iskos\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-iskaz\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-isk\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Vulgar Latin\", \"term\" : \"-iscus\", \"lang\" : \"la-vul\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Italian\", \"term\" : \"-esco\", \"lang\" : \"it\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"-esque\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-esque\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-esque\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "-esque",
        "4": "",
        "5": "-ish, -ic, -esque"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from French -esque (“-ish, -ic, -esque”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "-esco"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian -esco"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-iscus"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin -iscus"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Germanic"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "lng",
        "3": "-isc",
        "4": "",
        "5": "-ish"
      },
      "expansion": "Lombardic -isc (“-ish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*-isk"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *-isk"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*-iskaz",
        "4": "",
        "5": "-ish"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *-iskaz (“-ish”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*-iskos"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *-iskos"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "-isc",
        "3": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German -isc"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "-isch"
      },
      "expansion": "German -isch"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "-isċ"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English -isċ"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "-iskr"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse -iskr"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "-𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic -𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (-isks)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ish",
        "3": "-ski"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of -ish and -ski"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:-esque",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-iskos\nProto-Germanic *-iskaz\nProto-West Germanic *-iskbor.\nVulgar Latin -iscus\nItalian -escobor.\nFrench -esquebor.\nEnglish -esque"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*-iskos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-iskos#Proto-Indo-European:_pertaining_to"
    ],
    [
      "*-iskaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-iskaz#Proto-Germanic:_pertaining_to"
    ],
    [
      "*-isk",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-isk#Proto-West_Germanic:_adjective"
    ],
    [
      "-iscus",
      "-iscus#Latin:_suf"
    ],
    [
      "-esco",
      "-esco#Italian:_suf"
    ],
    [
      "-esque",
      "-esque#French"
    ],
    [
      "-esque",
      "-esque#French"
    ],
    [
      "-esco",
      "-esco#Italian"
    ],
    [
      "-iscus",
      "-iscus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-isc",
      "-isc#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "*-isk",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-isk"
    ],
    [
      "*-iskaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-iskaz"
    ],
    [
      "*-iskos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-iskos"
    ],
    [
      "-isc",
      "-isc#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "-isch",
      "-isch#German"
    ],
    [
      "-isċ",
      "-isc#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "-iskr",
      "-iskr#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "-𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃",
      "-𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "-ish",
      "-ish#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ski",
      "-ski#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "In the style or manner of; appended to nouns, especially proper nouns, and forming adjectives.",
        "Resembling; appended to nouns, especially proper nouns, and forming adjectives."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "63bd7041bf377a8f8677ece0b389dd23aba81c939931a12003da6ab06cbe91ca",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c7ff267d6dcb2af209adfa8cc34a8821a2ff36a3c1cf8590b75876fe3e5a457e",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 451402
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -esque →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LWVzcXVl