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Origin and history of -esque

-esque

word-forming element meaning "resembling or suggesting the style of," from French -esque "like, in the manner of," from Italian -esco, which, with Medieval Latin -iscus, is from Frankish or some other Germanic source (compare Old High German -isc, German -isch; see -ish).

Entries linking to -esque

burlesque(n.)

1660s, "piece composed in burlesque style, derisive imitation, grotesque parody," earlier as an adjective, "odd, grotesque" (1650s), from French burlesque (16c.), from Italian burlesco "ludicrous," from burla "joke, fun, mockery," possibly ultimately from Late Latin burra "trifle, nonsense," literally "flock of wool" (a word of unknown origin). For ending, see -esque.

 The more precise adjectival meaning "tending to excite laughter by ludicrous contrast between the subject and the manner of treating it" is attested in English by 1700.

The two great branches of ridicule in writing are comedy and burlesque. The first ridicules persons by drawing them in their proper characters; the other, by drawing them quite unlike themselves. Burlesque is therefore of two kinds; the first represents mean persons in accoutrements of heroes, the other describes great persons acting and speaking like the basest among the people. [Addison, "Spectator," Dec. 15, 1711]

By 1880s it typically meant "travesties on the classics and satires on accepted ideas" and vulgar comic opera. The modern sense of "variety show featuring striptease" is American English, evolving after 1870 and predominant from 1920s, probably from the earlier sense "sketches at the end of minstrel shows" (1857).

A BURLESQUE show, to the average person, is a rather naughty form of entertainment which men attend for the purpose of vicarious thrills and semi-obscenity. [The American Parade, 1927]
Hemingwayesque(adj.)

1934, in reference to American writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961). With -esque.

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nature
late 13c., "restorative powers of the body, bodily processes; powers of growth;" from Old French nature "nature, being, principle of life; character, essence," from Latin natura "course of things; natural character, constitution, quality; the universe," literally "birth," from na
cleave
"to split, part or divide by force," Old English cleofan, cleven, cliven "to split, separate" (class II strong verb, past tense cleaf, past participle clofen), from Proto-Germanic *kleuban (source also of Old Saxon klioban, Old Norse kljufa, Danish klöve, Dutch kloven, Old High G
guild
also gild, early 13c., yilde (spelling later influenced by Old Norse gildi "guild, brotherhood"), a semantic fusion of Old English gegield "guild, brotherhood," and gield "service, offering; payment, tribute; compensation," from Proto-Germanic *geldja- "payment, contribution" (so
abeyance
1520s, "state of expectation," from Anglo-French abeiance "suspension," also "expectation (especially in a lawsuit)," from Old French abeance "aspiration, powerful desire," noun of condition from abeer "aspire after, gape, open wide," from à "at" (see ad-) + ba(y)er "be open," fr
journey
c. 1200, "a defined course of traveling; one's path in life," from Old French journée "a day's length; day's work or travel" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *diurnum "day," noun use of neuter of Latin diurnus "of one day" (from dies "day," from PIE root *dyeu- "to shine"). The French f
cocktail
"drink made from water, sugar, spirits and bitters" first attested 1798, but the reason for the application of the name, and the image intended, if any, were obscure even to contemporaries. Ayto ("Diner's Dictionary") derives it from cocktail "horse with a docked tail" (the word
career
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perpetual
mid-14c., perpetuel, "everlasting, unceasing, existing indefinitely, continuing forever in future time;" late 14c., "uninterrupted, continuous," from Old French perpetuel "without end" (12c.) and directly from Latin perpetualis "universal," in Medieval Latin "permanent," from per
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early 15c., from Latin ignominiosus "disgraceful, shameful," from ignominia "disgrace, infamy, loss of a (good) name," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + nomen (genitive nominis) "name" (from PIE root *no-men- "name"). The Latin spelling perhaps influ
silhouette
"portrait in black showing the profile," 1798, from French silhouette, in reference to Étienne de Silhouette (1709-1767), French minister of finance in 1759. The usual reason given is that it was an inexpensive way to make a likeness of someone, and thus the name was a derisive r

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