sparkishadj.
/ˈspɑːkɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈspɑrkɪʃ/ 1. Of persons: Having the character, airs, or manners of a spark or gallant.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > fashionable society > [adjective] > (characteristic of) member of > male
sparkish1641
rakish1696
knutty1916
Wooster1939
Woosterish1959
Woosterian1983
1641 J. Johnson Acad. Love 89 If it were not for some of the old out-of-date grandames..the young sparkish girles would read in Shakespeere day and night.
1675 W. Wycherley Country-wife iv. 63 I have been detained by a Sparkish Coxcomb, who pretended a visit to me.
1694 R. L'Estrange Fables (ed. 2) 32 A daw that had a mind to be sparkish tricked himself with all the gay feathers he could muster.
a1718 W. Penn Life in Wks. (1726) I. 159 A Rich, Young, Neat, Sparkish Husband.
1767 ‘Coriat Junior’ Another Traveller! I. 55 Genteel! Ha! Sparkish! A good bit! Admirable.
1830 Fraser's Mag. 2 458 The place of the sparkish Templar, the wit about town, was then in the pit of a theatre.
a1857 D. Jerrold J. Applejohn in Men of Char. xviii Several sparkish holyday makers broke through the press.
2. Of things: Characteristic of, or appropriate to, a spark; of a smart or elegant make.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [adjective] > smart
gallantc1420
galliard1513
fine1526
trickly1580
pink1598
genteel1601
sparkful1605
sparkish1657
jaunty1662
spankinga1666
shanty1685
trig1725
smartish1738
distinguished1748
nobby1788
dashing1801
vaudy1805
swell1810
distingué1813
dashy1822
nutty1823
chic1832
slicked1836
flash1838
rakish1840
spiffy1853
smart1860
sassy1861
classy1870
spiffing1872
toffish1873
tony1877
swish1879
hep1899
toffy1901
hip1904
toppy1905
in1906
floozy1911
swank1913
jazz1917
ritzy1919
smooth1920
snappy1925
snazzy1931
groovy1937
what ho1937
gussy1940
criss1954
high camp1954
sprauncy1957
James Bondish1966
James Bond1967
schmick1972
designer1978
atas1993
as fine as fivepence-
1657 T. M. Life Satyrical Puppy 5 The Gentleman marking my sparkish behaviour..earnestly enquires after my name.
1667 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 116 Mr. Aubrey was then in a sparkish garb.
1687 Reflect. on Hind & Panther 17 And indeed he hath done it in the Sparkishest Poem that ever was seen.
1704 J. Swift Tale of Tub ii. 59 Observe how sparkish a Perewig adorns the Head of a Beech.
1884 J. Sharman Cursory Hist. Swearing 5 Some [pipes] were light and sparkish, others ponderous and clumsy.
Derivatives
ˈsparkishness n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > smartness
sparkishness1687
smartness1741
slickness1872
nobbiness1909
1687 A. Behn Luckey Chance Prol. Who thinks good usage for the Sex unfit, And slights ye out of Sparkishness and Wit.
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Sparkishness, Gaiety, Briskness, Spruceness, &c.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1641