Fishy
/ˈfɪʃ.i/noun
Of, relating to, or resembling fish; also suspicious or questionable in an informal sense.
Did you know?The suspicious sense of fishy is a later figurative development in English, probably from the idea of a smell, look, or situation that seems off—language quietly weaponizing a normal word.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peisk-
“Fish; the ancient root behind several Germanic fish-words.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*fiskaz
“Fish.”
Old English
English
fisc
“Fish.”
Middle English
English
fishy
“Fish-like; smelling or tasting of fish.”
19th Century
English
fishy
“Suspicious, dubious, or not quite right.”
Modern English
English
fishy
“Having the qualities of fish, or seeming questionable or shady.”