squishy (English)
Where does "squishy" come from?
The word 'squishy' emerged in English by combining the sound-imitative verb 'squish' with the suffix '-y' to describe something soft or wet. 'Squish' itself is likely an alteration of the word 'squash,' influenced by the obsolete term 'squiss' and linked to the Old Occitan word 'esquichar,' which meant to squeeze.
Full etymology tree
- squishy (English), 'Yielding easily to pressure; very soft.'
- suffix squish (English), 'The sound or action of something, especially something moist, being squeezed or crushed.'
- derived squash (English), 'A sport played in a walled court with a soft rubber ball and bats like tennis racquets.'
- inherited squachen (Middle English)
- borrowed esquacher (Old French)
- inherited *excoāctiāre (Vulgar Latin)
- derived ex- (Latin), 'out, away'
- derived coāctāre (Latin), 'inflection of coāctō:'
- inherited *excoāctiāre (Vulgar Latin)
- borrowed esquacher (Old French)
- inherited squachen (Middle English)
- derived squash (English), 'A sport played in a walled court with a soft rubber ball and bats like tennis racquets.'
- suffix -y (English), 'Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives meaning “having the quality of”, either “involving the referent” or “analogous to it”.'
- suffix squish (English), 'The sound or action of something, especially something moist, being squeezed or crushed.'
Direct ancestors
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris