Scampish
/ˈskæm.pɪʃ/noun
Playfully mischievous; behaving like a scamp.
Did you know?Scampish comes from scamp, a word that originally meant a rogue or rascal, and its deeper ancestry likely ties back to old Germanic ideas of shamelessness and disorder rather than harmless fun.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skam-
“A root associated with shame, disgrace, or being ashamed”
Old English
OE
scamu
“Shame, disgrace”
Middle English
ME
scamp
“A rogue, rascal, or swindler”
Late 18th Century
English
scamp
“A mischievous person, a rascal”
19th Century
English
scampish
“Having the manner of a scamp; playful and roguish”