Fleerish

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Showing mockery through a sneering, jeering manner toward someone one regards as foolish or inferior
2. Given to scornful grinning and taunting, as if openly laughing at another person's expense
3. Characterized by a derisive, mocking tone or expression meant to belittle or ridicule others

Etymology: Fleerish is a plain formation: the verb "fleer," meaning to sneer, jeer, or grin mockingly, with the adjective-forming suffix "-ish" added, so it describes someone who behaves in that mocking way. "Fleer" itself appears in Middle English, and its origin is uncertain. Scholars have suggested a link to Scandinavian words for mocking or grinning, but this is not firmly established. The suffix is ordinary English, the same one found in "childish" or "bookish," and it adds the sense of "having the quality of" or "tending toward." The adjective is rare, and its meaning is recorded in dictionaries of older English. Its sense is almost entirely tied to the mocking grin the verb describes.