pinkishadj.
/ˈpɪŋkɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈpɪŋkɪʃ/ 1. Somewhat pink in colour; having a tinge of pink.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > [adjective] > pale red or pink
incarnatea1533
fleshy1555
incarnation1562
pallet1565
peach1583
bepurfurate1584
blush1597
carnation1598
peachy1599
peach-coloured1600
pink-coloured1600
incarnadine1605
pink1607
blush-coloured1626
blushy1626
gridelin1652
carnationeda1658
pinky1661
carneous1673
peach blossom1702
flesh-coloured1703
flesh-colour1711
mushroom-coloured1770
salmon-coloured1776
pinkish1785
salmon1786
blush-tinted1818
flesh-red1819
naturelle1873
flesh-pink1882
lilac-pink1882
pinksome1913
nude1922
magnolia-pink1931
salmony1935
magnolia1963
1785 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 75 338 Its outer surface is of a darkish brown colour; its inner of a pinkish white.
1843 J. E. Portlock Rep. Geol. Londonderry 92 The chalk is of a pinkish hue.
1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 439 Panicle pale green or pinkish.
1904 A. H. Buck Ref. Handbk. Med. Sci. (rev. ed.) VII. 782/2 A circular scaly pink patch that spreads peripherally with a pinkish border.
2001 Org. Gardening July 36/2 Valerian.., a perennial that..produces small, tubular, pinkish flowers in June.
2. colloquial. Politically somewhat left of centre; liberal, socialist. Cf. pink adj.2 5.
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society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > groups or attitudes right to left > [adjective] > left > radical
radical1783
pink1820
pinko1925
pinkish1930
New Leftist1960
Adullamite1963
New Leftish1967
1930 Times 8 Feb. 7/2 Today he might stand before them..as a true-blue Tory, but his record at the Ministry of Transport had a pinkish hue about it.
1968 W. Ash Ride Paper Tiger vii. 108 Certain pinkish professors back home are making rather a lot of the fact that Ortiz is a political martyr.
1990 Christianity Today 5 Feb. 32/2 Some of those in R2 are even known for their ‘greenish’ (environmentalist) and ‘pinkish’ (socialist) politics.
3. colloquial. Fit, well, thriving. Cf. pink n.5 3b. rare.
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the world > health and disease > [adjective] > of health: good > fit
well-breatheda1425
long-breatheda1513
fitly1570
long-winded1578
as fit as a fiddle1603
toned1745
well-braced1859
fit1869
(as) fit as a flea1889
fighting-fit1891
pinkish1949
aerobicized1983
1949 J. Corrie in Best One-act Plays 1948–9 112 ‘You are looking very well.’ ‘I'm feeling very pinkish... Very pinkish, indeed, thank you.’
Compounds
C1. Modifying colour words to form adjectives and nouns, as pinkish-brown, pinkish-grey, pinkish-purple, etc.
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1785Pinkish white [see sense 1].
1857 ‘G. Eliot’ in J. W. Cross George Eliot's Life (1885) I. vii. 360 The castle is built of stone which has a beautiful pinkish-grey tint.
1894 R. B. Sharpe Hand-bk. Birds Great Brit. I. 105 The series..varies between a purplish- or pinkish-red, and stone-grey ground-colour.
1905 Bulletin (Sydney) 12 Jan. 16/2 This gentleman [sc. a land crab] is a pinkish yellow creature from two to four inches long.
1952 A. G. L. Hellyer Sanders' Encycl. Gardening (ed. 22) 59 Spathe yellowish-green and pinkish-brown.
2003 Pop. Ceramics May–June 12/3 Blue under a pink translucent will give a pinkish-purple color.
C2.
pinkish-yellowing adj. poetic rare turning pinkish-yellow.
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1952 S. Spender Learning Laughter i. 5 A tall stucco pinkish-yellowing house.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1785