When you see –esque attached to a word, that –esque meaning indicates that one person or thing resembles another. This resemblance can be in appearance, actions, or other qualities. Need more help? Keep reading for a complete understanding of what the esque word means and how to use it.
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What Is Esque?
Esque (the English pronunciation “esk”) is a suffix that you can add to almost any noun to make it an adjective. The term is French, but it came from the Italian -esco, which is from the medieval Latin -iscus. It’s also cognate (derived from the same origins) with terms like the Old High German -isc. All of these terms mean “like or in the manner of.”
Examples:
- Because of his courage, people sometimes say he is lionesque.
- Tall supermodels are frequently described as being statuesque.
- You may find spiders fascinating, but I find them grotesque.
- The mountain lake was so picturesque that I didn’t want to leave it.
- Let’s go see that burlesque show that parodies the decade we grew up in.
- He put on a truly Jordanesque performance in last night’s basketball team, basically carrying the team to victory.
- The keynote speech was so powerful and moving that it came across as Churchill-esque.
- The majesty with which the figure skater moved was rather eagle-esque.
- I have a mountainesque amount of work to get through before I can go on vacation.
- The movie had an obvious Star Wars–esque feel to it, but it was still pretty good on its own merits.
When and How to Use Esque?
Using –esque can bring up some questions. Mainly, they’re about making up words, what to attach it to, and whether or not you need a hyphen.
Can You Just Make Words?
Normally, you shouldn’t go around making up words. Doing so muddies up what is and isn’t proper English. Furthermore, you run the risk of confusing people who aren’t familiar with your unique words and what they mean.
The suffix –esque is an exception. Some of the words from our examples (statuesque, grotesque, picturesque, burlesque) are actually in the dictionary. However, you can make up your own words with –esque. As long as you’re doing it correctly, people will know exactly what you mean.
How Do You Add Esque to Words?
You can add this suffix to almost any noun. That includes both common and proper nouns (remember to capitalize if you’re using a proper noun). By doing this, you change the noun to an adjective.
Always add –esque at the end of a noun. Don’t add it to other parts of speech; think of how awkward prettyesque would look and sound. Finally, never add it to a word that already contains it. Does picturesque-esque sound right?
Do I Need to Use a Hyphen?
You probably noticed that some of the examples had a hyphen while others didn’t. Using a hyphen is optional, and if your spell checker flags the word either way, you can ignore it. (That’s as long as you otherwise correctly spelled the word and are using a noun.)
Sometimes, it’s good to use a hyphen. If not doing so, it would look confusing or awkward. A good example is if the noun ends with a vowel, especially an e (eagle-esque). Another is with people’s names. Most people have heard of Michael Jordan, so Jordanesque shouldn’t puzzle anyone in a basketball context.
For someone not so well-known, you might want to hyphenate so people know it’s a name, not a strange word.
The final example sentence uses an en dash instead of a hyphen. Some people choose to do that when the noun consists of more than one word. The extra-long hyphen can indicate that –esque is modifying multiple words.
What Is the Difference Between Ish and Esque?
Like –esque, -ish can be a suffix that indicates a similarity to. For example, you can talk about someone’s boyish behaviors. Ish also indicates someone or something’s origins– think British.
Another difference from the –esque meaning is that you can -ish as an approximation.
Example:
We’ll stop by around noonish.Final Thoughts
When you add -esque to the end of a noun, you transform the noun into an adjective. You are also associating something about that noun with someone or something else. Now that you know the -esque meaning, you can enjoy making your own adjectives from real nouns. Just don’t overdo it or use it the wrong way!
