tush
tʌʃ
interjection
Origin
English
tush — interjection of dismissal or rebuke
Overview
Meaning Now
- An exclamation used to express mild rebuke, impatience, or dismissal.
- A mild, old-fashioned cry of contempt or disbelief.
Language path
English → Modern English
Earliest form
tush
Earliest period
Middle English
Journey
Tush is one of several short English exclamations used to signal impatience, disapproval, or disbelief. It is especially familiar from older literature, where it often appears in dialogue as a rhetorical dismissal. Because it is an expressive sound-word, its ultimate etymology is not certain.
Evolution
- Middle English
tush
“exclamation of impatience or contempt”
Attested as an expressive particle in English texts.
- Early Modern English
tush
“mild exclamation used in speech and drama”
Common in literary dialogue and rhetorical writing.
- Modern English
tush
“old-fashioned interjection of rebuke or dismissal”
Now chiefly literary, archaic, or humorous.
Connections
Word parts
tush
root
expressive interjection
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Related to tush
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.