Warmish

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Being at a temperature that is somewhat higher than cool Conveying a level of warmth that is agreeable and soft Defining a sensation that is lightly warm without reaching full heat levels
2. Having a temperature that is slightly above cool but not hot
3. Exhibiting a mild heat that is comfortable and not intense

Etymology: Warmish is about as plain a formation as English offers: the adjective "warm" with the suffix "-ish" attached, meaning "somewhat" or "rather" warm. The suffix has the same ancestry as the word it sits on. "Warm" comes from Old English "wearm," which descends from a Proto-Germanic root shared with the Germanic languages on the continent, and "-ish" traces back through Old English "-isc" to a Proto-Germanic ending that also gave English its "English" and "Welsh" style of adjectives. The suffix's history is the more interesting half. In Old English "-isc" simply meant "belonging to" or "like," as in "Englisc" for things of the English people. Over the centuries it drifted toward a sense of approximation, so that "reddish" means somewhat red and "greenish" means somewhat green. "Warmish" follows that pattern, placing a comfortable, moderate heat between cold and hot.

Synonyms: lukewarm, tepid, slightly warm

Antonyms: cold, chilly, frigid