What does currish mean?
Currish is an adjective used to describe someone or something resembling a cur — a worthless, bad-tempered dog. It therefore conveys two related shades of disapproval: cowardly, base, or ignoble conduct on one hand, and snappish, ill-tempered behaviour on the other. A currish act might be betraying a friend under pressure or snapping cruelly at someone weaker. The word belongs chiefly to literary and elevated registers; it appears in older English literature and in modern critical writing, but is uncommon in casual speech. Its power lies in its vividness: rather than simply calling someone cowardly or rude, calling them currish evokes the image of a snarling, untrustworthy mongrel, making the insult more colourful and cutting. Writers reach for it when they want a precise, old-fashioned word with genuine bite.
adjectiveResembling or characteristic of a cur; base, cowardly, or ill-tempered in a mean-spirited way.
- Base, cowardly, or contemptible in character, like a cur
- Ill-tempered or snappish in manner
"His currish refusal to defend his friend when the accusations began revealed his true character."
"The currish behaviour of abandoning a wounded comrade earned him lasting disgrace."
"She gave him a currish snarl when he interrupted her work for the third time that morning."
Currish is one of those rare English words that literally insults you by comparing you to a mongrel dog — and it's been doing so since at least Shakespeare's era.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of currish
Currish derives from the noun 'cur', meaning a worthless or aggressive dog, combined with the adjectival suffix '-ish'. The word 'cur' itself has an uncertain Germanic origin and has been part of English since the medieval period. Currish has been used in English since at least the sixteenth century, appearing in the works of writers such as Shakespeare to denote both cowardly baseness and ill temper. It shares its root with the plain noun 'cur' rather than with Latin 'canis', though all ultimately relate to the canine family of words.
Related word forms
How currish is actually used
Currish is a literary and somewhat archaic word, rarely heard in everyday conversation but still found in formal writing and criticism. It carries a strongly pejorative connotation, implying both moral baseness and a kind of snarling, ill-natured hostility.
Easily confused with currish
Churlish means rude or surly in manner, while currish specifically suggests the base, cowardly qualities of a cur (a worthless dog).
Scurrilous describes abusive, vulgar language, whereas currish describes a generally base or cowardly character.