-esque

English

Etymology

From French -esque (“-ish, -ic, -esque”), from Italian -esco, from Latin -iscus, of Germanic origin, from Lombardic -isc (“-ish”), from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz (“-ish”), from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos. Cognate with Old High German -isc (German -isch), Old English -isc, Old Norse -iskr, Gothic -𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (-isks). More at -ish.

Suffix

-esque

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

   Kafkaesque

   • 2012 August 21, Jason Heller, “The Darkness: Hot Cakes (Music Review)”, The Onion AV Club:

     When the album succeeds, such as on the swaggering, Queen-esque “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us,” it does so on The Darkness’ own terms—that is, as a random ’80s-cliché generator. But with so many tired, lazy callbacks to its own threadbare catalog (including “Love Is Not The Answer,” a watery echo of the epic “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” from 2003’s Permission To Land), Hot Cakes marks the point where The Darkness has stopped cannibalizing the golden age of stadium rock and simply started cannibalizing itself. And, despite Hawkins’ inveterate crotch-grabbing, there was never that much meat there to begin with.

2. Resembling; appended to nouns, especially proper nouns, and forming adjectives.

Translations

Note: these translations are a guide only. For more precise translations, see individual words ending in -esque.

in the style of

• Catalan: -esc (ca) m
• Danish: -isk (da)
• Esperanto: -eca (eo)
• French: -esque (fr)
• German: -esk (de)

• Hungarian: -os (hu), -es (hu)
• Italian: -esco (it)
• Romanian: esc (ro) m, ească (ro) f
• Spanish: -esco (es)

resembling

• Danish: -agtig (da), -lignende (da)
• Esperanto: -eca (eo)

• French: -esque (fr)
• Spanish: -esco (es)

Derived terms

arabesque Beatlesque Bunyanesque burlesque Capraesque Churrigueresque Disneyesque gigantesque

grotesque Goreyesque humoresque Junoesque Kafkaesque Landaueresque Lincolnesque Michelangelesque (of "Michelangelo") modelesque Moresque picaresque picturesque

Pinteresque Plateresque Pythonesque Romanesque Rubenesque Schwarzeneggeresque sculpturesque statuesque Tolkienesque Zappaesque

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French

Etymology

From Italian -esco (“-like”), from Latin -iscus (also the partial source of the inherited doublets -ais, -ois through Old French), of Germanic origin, from Lombardic -isc, from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz (“-ish”), from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos. Akin to Old High German -isc (German -isch), Old English -isc, Old Norse -iskr, Gothic -𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (-isks). More at -ish.

Suffix

-esque

1. -esque

Descendants

• English: -esque